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Deputies find unregistered sex offenders
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Mahoning County Sheriff Office deputies recently updated the department’s database of sexual offenders with help from the U.S. Marshals Service.
Sheriff Jerry Greene said Thursday the just-finished Mahoning County Safe Check took place from Monday through Wednesday.
Two deputies responsible for keeping track of sex offenders who need to register received two electronic devices through the Marshals Service to update the registry of 285 sexual offenders in Mahoning County.
Out of the 285, 18 will be facing state charges for not registering properly or updating their address or contact information, and two others will face federal charges, Greene said.
The 18 facing charges probably will be directly indicted by a county grand jury on a charge of failure to register, Greene said.
The public can find out where they are by checking the sheriff’s website, www.mahoningsheriff.com, Greene said. He said the devices he was able to purchase will make it easier to keep that information current.
“It’s important we know where these individuals are and the public knows where the offenders are in their neighborhoods,” Greene said. “It works much easier for our officers in the field to keep this information current.”
Greene said he heard about the program through the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association, and he reached out to the marshals for help.
Of the 285 who were registered, deputies had to update addresses, contact information and vehicle information for more than 200 offenders.
“It’s good to stay updated on the information,” Greene said.
The new information also makes it easier because sexual offenders often are transient and do not often stay in the same place very long.
Typically, most counties have a 10 to 12 percent rate of noncompliance by sexual offenders for registration purposes, Greene said. Mahoning County’s noncompliance rate is slightly lower at 7 percent.