State and local agencies have completed a roundup of sex offenders who haven’t obeyed the law that mandates telling the state where they live. Assistant Division of Criminal Investigation Director John Quinn says they began with
Initially they had 255 warrants, but managed to find and contact 60 of the offenders. DCI assistant head Quinn says each of the suspects is a convicted sex offender, and they knew what they were required to do under Iowa law.
The law states each offender has to inform their local sheriff’s or police department where they’re currently living. Quinn says while new state laws make it difficult for some offenders to find a place to live once they’ve finished their prison time, it’s important that they comply with the reporting rules.
The first non-compliance offense is a misdemeanor, but if they’re found to have failed a second time to report their correct living address, that’s a felony offense. Quinn says the courts, the legislature and law-enforcement take it very seriously, and if a sex-offender commits another offense while non-compliant with the notification rule, no matter what the offense it’ll automatically be a felony, tacked onto the other charges. “There are some very serious consequences to this,” he notes.
Quinn also says the penalties for violating the state’s 2000-foot rule barring offenders from living close to a school, daycare or other listed location are separate from the penalties they’ll face for not reporting where they DO live. The non-compliant offenders who were found in this week’s crackdown were arrested.