TROY — The Miami County Sheriff’s Office conducted an offender address verification detail on all registered sex offenders, violent offenders and arson offenders in the county on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
This is the 12th consecutive year of conducting this operation, said a press release from Miami County Sheriff Dave Duchak. The detail was conducted in collaboration with 26 law enforcement officers from the Miami County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshal’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Covington, Piqua, Tipp City, West Milton and Troy Police Departments, as well as the Miami County Communications Center.
Every sheriff is responsible for keeping track of registered offenders within their county. The Sheriff’s Office Offender Registration and Notification (SORN) section keeps track of all sex, arson and violent offenders within each of Ohio’s 88 counties. No matter where a convicted offender lives in Ohio, as long as they are still required by law to register as an offender, they must report their residential address to the sheriff of the county in which they reside. In Miami County, deputies are assigned to conduct random address checks quarterly throughout the year to help ensure compliance.
Prior to Tuesday’s operation, between those checks and tips from the public, the Miami County Sheriff’s Office investigated 13 incidents of offenders possibly being out of compliance. From those investigations, five addresses were eventually verified and charges were filed in four cases for being found out of compliance. Sentences ranged from probation, jail, or prison time. Some offenders are still awaiting their next court appearance. As of Tuesday, there are four outstanding warrants for out of compliance offenders and there are no cases under investigation.
At of the beginning of the detail Tuesday, there were 174 registered offenders in Miami County. All registered addresses were checked with 116 addresses being verified. There was one offender found to be potentially out of compliance and an investigation was initiated. All remaining addresses will be re-checked randomly between now and the end of the year. Should any of the remaining offenders be found to be non-compliant, investigations will be initiated and charges filed if appropriate.
“I would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the agencies and personnel they provided to assist with the detail, as this operation would not be possible without them.” said Duchak in the release.
For further information or questions about the SORN program or today’s operation, please call the Miami County Sheriff’s Office S.O.R.N. section at 937-335-8343 and ask for Carol Foster.
