Birbeck: ‘Take Your Illicit Business Out of Town’

Olney Police arrested a convicted sex offender for failing to disclose his social media profiles to law enforcement. This second-degree felony could land him in state prison for two to 20 years, Police Chief Dan Birbeck said.

“We served a search warrant that yielded an arrest. The suspect went to jail today,” Birbeck told the City Council at the live-streamed May 9 meeting. “You can expect to see other search warrants for drug offenses. I would advise anyone who is watching to take your illicit business out of town.”

Bruce Kent Rushing, 67, was arrested May 9 on suspicion of failure to comply with sex offender requirements. He remains in Young County Jail on a bond of $15,000. He served a five-year sentence for a 2002 conviction for consenting to sexual performance by a 13-year-old girl, according to the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry.

Birbeck said Olney police took statements from several witnesses about Rushing’s alleged criminal activity. One of these complainants turned over an SD card belonging to Rushing. Police obtained a search warrant for the SD card May 3 and turned up evidence that Rushing was compelling people to perform sexual acts in return for money or favors, Birbeck said.

Police executed a warrant on his East Church Street home May 4 and subsequently interviewed Rushing, confirming suspicions that he was engaged in illegal activity, Birbeck said.

“During the search, evidence was yielded that led investigators to the fact that he failed to comply with requirements to register his online identifiers and that subsequently resulted in his arrest,” Birbeck said.

The case is still under investigation, Birbeck said.