CENTRAL FLORIDA -- Central Florida has been known to have its fair share of sex offenders and predators, but Eyewitness News found out a Seminole County computer programmer used that knowledge to better protect people by letting them track offenders live on their iPhones.

It's called "S.O.S." or "Sex Offender Search." It's one of the 65,000 applications that can be added to the Apple IPhone and its inventor is cashing in.

"More than I envision. Not smashing success yet. Definitely very, very nice source of income," computer programmer Roberto Franceschetti said.

In one month, more than 30,000 of his application have been purchased. Apple keeps 30 percent, so he's pocketed more than $20,000 and expects to have a good first year.

"It's still going to be several hundreds of thousands of dollars. The online market is huge," he said.

Roberto, who is a computer programmer for Orange County, uses websites that offer free information on where sex offenders and predators live. He just makes the info portable, not to provide fear but a tool for parents and realtors.

"Maybe opposite of fear, they know what to expect now," Franceschetti said

Eyewitness News put the iPhone app to the test and, sure enough, behind apartment number two there was a sex offender.

"Our iPhone app brought us here and said there was a sex offender living next door," WFTV reporter Greg Warmoth said.

"Okay," the person replied.

"Is that true?" Warmoth asked.

"Somebody did tell us about their past and we did pull it up on the Internet and found for ourselves," the person said.

"So the app did work?" Warmoth asked.

"It did work," they replied.

For Ashley, whose husband's business takes them to a number of cities every year, she says for $1.99 it seems like a valuable tool.

"I run outside every day and to know these are the people I'm running with," Ashley said. "It's shocking to look down and see a hundred red dots in your area and to know that's where you are and to know nothing about that, the app really opens your eyes."

Because sexual predator/offender data bases are mostly in the U.S., Franchesetti says he doesn't see a worldwide market.