March 11, 2009 - 150 Sex Offenders Arrested in Statewide Sweep

Contact: See contact information below.

Agency: State Police

LANSING. The Michigan State Police (MSP) announced today that 150 non-compliant sex offenders were arrested and 405 additional arrest warrants were requested during Operation Verify, an initiative aimed at increasing compliance with Michigan’s sex offender registration law. This is the state’s sixth coordinated sex offender sweep in four years.

The effort, which was led by the MSP, involved over 70 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. From Feb. 2 - 13, 2009, officers conducted compliance checks at the registered residences of 2,220 offenders, resulting in 150 arrests for violations of the Michigan Sex Offenders Registration Act (MCL 28.723 – 28.732).

Since the first statewide Operation Verify sweep in the fall of 2005, 2,546 sex offenders have been arrested for non-compliance.

The Michigan Sex Offenders Registration Act requires offenders convicted of a misdemeanor listed offense to report to a local law enforcement agency to verify their address yearly, Jan. 1 through Jan. 15. Offenders convicted of a felony-listed offense must report to a local law enforcement agency to verify their address quarterly during the first 15 days of January, April, July and October. Failure to do so is a graduated penalty ranging from a 93-day misdemeanor to a four-year felony. Convicted offenders must also report a change of address within 10 days of moving; failure to do so is a four-year felony.

As of Feb. 3, there were 43,964 offenders on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Following the January verification period, 39,427 offenders were in compliance.

In addition to Operation Verify, the MSP participates in several local and regional sweeps each year. The department also maintains a list of the Most Wanted Sex Offenders, available at www.michigan.gov/absconders. A total of 30 individuals featured on the Web site have been located and arrested since it began in August 2006.

CONTACT:

D/F/Lt. Chuck Loader
MSP Statewide SOR Enforcement Coordinator
(517) 322-5424

The media is encouraged to contact their area coordinator for more information.

D/Sgt. Denise Bentley
Western Mid-Michigan Coordinator
Phone: (616) 866-6662

D/Sgt. Cyndee Gochanour
Mid-Michigan Coordinator
(517) 849-9922

D/Lt. Wally Helmila
Upper Peninsula Coordinator
(906) 225-7030

D/Lt. Amos Horton
Northern-Lower Michigan Coordinator
(231) 938-0714

D/Sgt. Doug Kill
Southwest Michigan Coordinator
(269) 465-6525

D/Sgt. Allan Ogg
Bay-Thumb Area Coordinator
(989) 758-1760

F/Lt. Robert Yorke
Metro-Detroit Area Coordinator
(586) 727-0203

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