Three-day sex offender sweep in Josephine County yields 15 non-compliant offenders

JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore. — The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office announced the conclusion of a three-day sex offender sweep.

The multi-agency law enforcement action was tasked with locating and bring into compliance all non-compliant sex offenders in Josephine County. The mission was meant to reduce crime, locate and apprehend wanted fugitives, and investigate potential federal charges of failure to register under the Adam Walsh Act.

During the Sweep Operation, there were approximately 687 Registered Sex Offenders residing in Josephine County, 163 of those were identified as being out of compliance with their sex offender registration obligation.

An investigation was completed on the 163 non-compliant sex offenders while attempting to locate, cite or arrest, and to bring them into compliance with the sex offender registration laws.

Out of these 163 non-compliant sex offenders, 66 were found registering and residing in other states around the country and 15 non-compliant sex offenders were located locally and brought into compliance by the issuance of a citation, apprehension, or warning followed by completing the Sex Offender Registration Form.

The remaining non-compliant sex offenders have been deemed as deceased, incarcerated, deported or are currently being sought after. The U.S. Marshals will also be pursuing federal charges for numerous violations of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

Participating in the effort were, U.S. Marshals Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force, the Grants Pass Department of Public Safety, the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, the Josephine County Parole and Probation Office, the Oregon State Police Central Point Office, the Oregon State Police Grants Pass Office, and the Oregon State Police Sex Offender Registration Section.

The U.S. Marshals Oregon Fugitive Task Force is supported by the Oregon High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program of which Josephine County is a member.

The task force is comprised of investigators from the U.S. Marshals Service, Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Portland Police Bureau, Oregon State Police, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Central Point Police Department, Multnomah County Probation & Parole, and the Oregon National Guard. The Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force is comprised of U.S. Marshals Service investigators from the Districts of Alaska, Oregon, Eastern Washington, and Western Washington. For more information on the task force you can go to www.usmarshals.gov. ###.

The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the department "wishes to extend its gratitude for the three-day collaborative effort to ensure all resident sex offenders are held in compliance with both state and federal mandates/laws."