Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Between August 6th and August 9th, 2019, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office conducted an annual sex offender registration compliance sweep throughout the County of Humboldt. Representatives from the Fortuna Police Department, Arcata Police Department, US Marshals Service, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and State Parole assisted during the operation.

During this sweep, law enforcement attempted to contact registered sex offenders in Humboldt County to ensure each offender is in compliance with state requirements. Pursuant to California Penal Code 290, sex offender registrants are required to register in person with the law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction where they reside. The registrants must also comply with several registration requirements, such as updating their registration annually and informing law enforcement when any changes have been made to their address or registration information. Failure by a sex registrant to keep law enforcement notified of an address change or registration information is a crime and can be punished as a felony or misdemeanor.

As of August 15th, 2019, there are 472 registered sex offenders in Humboldt County and 49 of those offenders are registered as transient.

During the compliance sweep, 347 registrants were determined to be in compliance, 23 registrants were suspected of being out of compliance, 4 offenders were currently incarcerated, and 1 was discovered to have recently passed away.

Additionally, 6 arrests were made during the operation. Investigators are completing follow up investigations into those found to be out of compliance and anticipate additional arrest warrants to be submitted to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.

The annual sweep is a collaborative effort to reduce violent sexual offenses in the county through proactive surveillance and arrest of habitual sexual offenders, and strict enforcement of state registration requirements. Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office involvement in this enforcement effort is funded through the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) grant.

For more information regarding the annual sex offender registration compliance sweep, contact Investigator Jennifer Taylor at (707) 268-3642.

Additional Resources:

https://meganslaw.ca.gov/faq.aspx

https://humboldtgov.org/DocumentCenter/View/69388/Sex-Offender-Registration-Requirements