NORTH BEND, Ore. (AP) _ Once his neighbors got to know Frank Howard, his welcome wore out in a hurry, and Coos County has ordered the registered sex offender to move by Thursday evening.

Coos County Community Corrections director Roy Wright directed Howard, 51, to move after getting several calls from a concerned resident.

Howard, who has sodomy, robbery and rape convictions, had been in the neighborhood since July but neighbors including Jason Snelgrove and Tina Hickey said they didn't know of his background until last week.

"We're not going to battle with the public," Wright said.

"This guy has talked to my wife before," Snelgrove said. "I was afraid for my family."

Howard was convicted in 1981 of three counts of sodomy, four counts of robbery and one count of rape after sexually assaulting or trying to sexually assault six women, all strangers, at gunpoint in Coos County.

Wright said he did not know where Howard would be moved. Typically, parole orders for sex offenders prevent them from living near schools, playgrounds, or other places where young people regularly congregate.

"We're out looking for a place right now," Wright said "We try to respond to the community. ... It's not going to work with him living there, so he's gotta move."

The complaints were based on Howard's presence not his behavior, Wright noted.

"Some people just don't like sex offenders living near them," he said. "This is a very infrequent event, this kind of response from a person in the community."

Wright said Howard does not fit the criteria for a predatory sex offender. His status was determined through an assessment prior to his release from the Oregon State Correctional Institution in 2005. He then returned to Coos County.

Wright added that predatory sex offenders have to register for life and notification requirements are more rigorous. Flyers are sent to local law enforcement, libraries, school districts, colleges, swimming pools, malls and organizations involving children and may be given to local news media.

In non-predatory cases, notifications are sent to all law enforcement agencies in the area, the Department of Human Services and Child Welfare.

Although Wright said Howard is not considered predatory, Howard's photo and name are featured under the heading "Predatory Sex Offenders" on one page of the county's community corrections Web site.

Coos County officials questioned the parole board's assessment and notified neighbors of his presence at the time.

But when he moved, the county didn't repeat its notification.

Snelgrove said he believes he and his neighbors should have been notified, and that while he's glad Howard is moving, he worries about his next neighbors.

"I want people where he goes to next to be notified that he is a predatory sex offender," Snelgrove said. "The point is, anyone should be notified in this circumstance, and why aren't they?"

He said he first learned of Howard after a neighbor said the sex offender was staying on another neighbor's land. A property owner later found Howard on the predatory offenders list on the Coos County site.

Someone in the neighborhood handed out copies of that notice.

Tina Hickey, who lives about four houses away with her young daughter, said she found one of the notices on her front door.

"It's pretty creepy," she said. "I want him out as quick as possible."