Thomas K. Wood is a sex offender, convicted of felony crimes against a girl younger than 14.

He is also a Maine Revenue Services revenue agent, a field auditor whose work may include audits of individuals and businesses. He has the authority of the state to enter our homes, to review our financial records, judge our compliance with the law and seek penalties and repayments.

And while his name and face appear on the state’s registry of sex offenders, the state Revenue Service apparently sees little risk in sending him into our homes and businesses.

That’s wrong.

Wood was convicted in 1996, served his sentence and has an expectation and a social responsibility to be gainfully employed. Just not in this particular job.

The state, aware of his criminal background, defends Wood’s employment in this state division because, “unless a nexus can be found between a person’s job duties and the conviction,” the state cannot disqualify the employee from employment.

While the state may not see the nexus, we think most Mainers would, and it concerns us to think how many sex offenders the state may employ in similar positions.

Wood’s conviction is nearly 10 years old, but the requirement that he register as a sex offender so the state can track his employment and residence is current. When he enters a private home, he enters as a registered sex offender.

As his own office supervisor points out, the state spends a lot of energy to notify residents when a sex offender moves into their neighborhoods, but there is no notification when sex offender Wood enters a private home to review financial records, and there should be.

Our homes are intensely private territories, and it’s hard to imagine anyone knowingly opening the front door and letting a registered sex offender inside. And, yet, that’s what the state is expecting taxpayers to do because it does not acknowledge the link between the sex offense, the high recidivism rate for such crimes and our need to protect our families.

Wood is qualified to work as a revenue agent and deserves continued employment. He can probably work effectively for the Maine Revenue Services as an office-based employee, but that sets him apart from other revenue agents and creates a poor office dynamic.

He comes to the Maine Revenue Service from the Department of Labor, and there is surely another post he could be transferred to that would satisfy his desire to work and protect the public from unannounced intrusion in their homes.

The state should move him to a less sensitive job and the Legislature should review the state’s process for hiring felons.