MANSFIELD, Ohio – The Richland County Sheriff’s Office teamed up with the United States Marshals Service in the Northern District of Ohio and various members of state and local law enforcement to launch Operation SAFEGUARD 2015 in Richland County.
The goal of Operation SAFEGUARD was to conduct compliance checks and verify the address and offender information of sex offenders living in Richland County.
Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon teamed up with the United States Marshals Service in conducting an operation like this for the second time in 4 years because of how successful it was in December 2010.
Together, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshals Service requested support from the law enforcement agencies operating within Richland County and the response was remarkable.
10 agencies participated including: Lexington Police Department, Mansfield Police Department, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, Ohio State Patrol, Ontario Police Department, Plymouth Police Department, Richland County Probation and the Richland County Prosecutor’s Office.
From March 30 to April 2, 2015, team members hit the streets of Richland County to verify the residences of registered sex offenders. The teams visited and attempted to verify residency of over 367 registered sex offenders to ensure the offenders are in compliance with their sex offender registration requirements.
This initiative was a collaborative law enforcement effort that is designed to keep the public safe by ensuring that these offenders are complying with sex offender registration obligations and residing where they have reported.
The funding for this operation came at no additional cost to the citizens of Richland County. Special funding was received from the U.S. Marshals Service, Office of Sex Offender Investigations in Washington, D.C.
Due to the hard work and perseverance of the men and women that participated in Operation SAFEGUARD, 367 sex offender compliance checks were conducted, 13 offenders were found non-compliant, all were referred for prosecution, and all 13 were indicted during the April grand jury for failing to provide change of address, as required by Ohio law.
This operation revealed that only 3 percent of offenders were out of compliance, which is much lower than the 11 percent found to be out of compliance in December 2010. Sheriff Steve Sheldon explained that, “this is directly attributed to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office’s goal to maintain and ensure compliance on all registered sex offenders as part of its daily operations. The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for sex offender registration within Richland County and conducts unannounced compliance checks of registered offenders.”
On April 22, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and the Richland County Division of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) initiated fugitive investigations on all 13 offenders. 2 offenders were found to already be in custody, 5 were arrested today by task force officers, and the whereabouts of the remaining 6 sex offenders are still under investigation.
Those 6 are Robert Currie, Joshua Plenge, Jacob Horner, Shane Persinger, Cardin Matthews and David Moore.
The task force is requesting the assistance of the citizens of Richland County and ask that anyone with information as to their whereabouts please call the NOVFTF Tip Line at 1-866-4WANTED or call the task force office at 419-774-3565. Reward money is available and tipsters may also remain anonymous.
To search for sex offenders in Richland County, review safety tips, and learn more about your local sheriff’s office efforts, please visit www.sheriffrichlandcounty.com, and click on the tab indicated as “Sexual Offenders”. The registry will allow you to enter any local address and search for registered sex offenders.
The U.S. Marshals Service is the lead law enforcement agency responsible for investigating sex offender registration violations and related offenses in connection with violations of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which was enacted July 27, 2006. As part of this Act, the U.S. Marshals
Service has been directed to assist state, local, tribal and territorial authorities in the location and apprehension of non-compliant and fugitive sex offenders. Offenders that are found residing out of state can be charged federally and often those charges carry more severe penalties. To learn more, please visit: www.usmarshals.gov
