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Sex offenders get 3-day grace period to register
By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
INVERNESS -- Out-of-state sexual offenders who haven't registered with the county have a three-day grace period before the Citrus County Sheriff's Office starts getting tough. In an effort to encourage these offenders to comply with state law, anyone who has not yet registered can do so at the Citrus County jail until 5 p.m. Monday with no questions asked, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Tierney. After Monday, nonregistered offenders will face felony charges if they are caught by law enforcement. Meanwhile, the Sheriff's Office is exploring ways to track down unregistered offenders before they are arrested. "Right now, we're relying on the sex offenders to make the lawful move and register," Tierney said. "We're trying to come up with an alternative to that method." The Sheriff's Office is currently talking to other government agencies in an effort to identify those who fail to register. The move is prompted by a series of recent arrests where the defendant was discovered to be an out-of-state offender. Perhaps the most notable came last month, when William Evans was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a 7-year-old Homosassa girl. Evans also was accused of performing a sexual act with his girlfriend while still in the interrogation room of the Sheriff's Office. An investigation following the Jan. 28 arrest showed Evans, 44, was registered as a violent sexual offender in Virginia. He had moved to Homosassa in December 1999. A similar situation arose in June, when Douglas A. Burris was arrested on a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation of a 10-year-old Crystal River girl. The girl told sheriff's deputies Burris had touched her inappropriately. Burris was a registered sex offender from New York, who had been previously convicted of molesting a 6-year-old girl, his arrest report showed. He had been living in Crystal River since December 2001 without registering as a sex offender. A third unregistered offender was caught earlier this month. Alva Patterson, 62, was arrested after a police department in Hesperia, Calif., notified the Sheriff's Office that Patterson was a convicted sex offender. According to the Sheriff's Office, Patterson had not reoffended since moving to Floral City in August 2001. State law requires that sexual offenders register in person at a Florida Department of Law Enforcement office or at a local sheriff's office within 48 hours after establishing residency in a state. Failure to comply can result in a third-degree felony charge, which is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison, Assistant State Attorney Richard Buxman said. Anyone with questions about sex offender status or requirements for registration is asked to call Deputy Bruce Haslett at 726-4488, ext. 237. -- Carrie Johnson can be reached at 860-7309 or cjohnson@sptimes.com .
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