House Calls Made to the Homes of North Carolina Registered Sex Offenders

By KevinMarcilliat, In Sex Crimes, 0 Comments

More than 200 registered sex offenders received house calls from sheriff’s deputies last week. The goal was to “knock-and-talk” to offender to check on probation and sentence compliance.

In particular, they wanted to make sure that the sex offender was actually residing at the listed address, which is a requirement following a sex offense conviction in North Carolina. If a sex offender moves or vacates an apartment, he or she has the responsibility to notify the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry of the change of address so the local community can be notified.

The unannounced visits prompted the possibility of more than 12 offenders facing charges for failure to notify the sheriff’s department or law enforcement officers of their change of address. At one house, officers found no one living there. At another house, the residents said that the offender was no longer living at the house. A homeless shelter that was listed as an offender’s address also notified deputies that the offender had not been seen for weeks.

This type of operation is conducted at least twice each year. There is no formal requirement for sheriff’s deputies to conduct this type of check-in, however, deputies feel that it helps them locate those who are violating their sentence and possibly looking for trouble.

Source: Shelby Star, “200 Sex Offenders Get House Calls,” 1/25/2012