Susan Manning, director of Ogden City's Housing Authority, said her agency goes beyond federal requirements by denying housing to any convicted pedophile.

"If they forged a check a while ago, and it was a while ago, and it wasn't their last landlord," Manning said, a person would likely be eligible for public housing.

While applicants wait as long as five years for assistance in those areas contacted by the Deseret Morning News, none said a criminal background check would lower someone's position on the list. The checks are done when an applicant moves to the top of the list, the authorities said.

The HRW report recommended that local housing authorities consider:

• Only criminal records that are less than 10 years old, absent extraordinary circumstances.

• Only those offenses that are relevant to being a good tenant.

• Only convictions, absent a pattern of continuing arrests.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com