Georgia Sex Offender Facing Criminal Charges after Failing to Register
Posted on Oct 9, 2008 9:22am PDT
Wjbf.com is reporting that a 34 year old man named Thomas R. Rhoden Jr. is facing enhanced criminal charges after failing to appropriately register as a convicted sex offender.
Lt. Michael Frank of the Aiken Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant for the arrest of Rhoden because Rhoden failed to register as a sex offender and also failed to notify the police department of his recent change in address.
In March of 1993, Thomas Rhoden was convicted for a serious sex crime,
Lewd Act Upon a Minor. In May of 2008, he registered with his local police department, but did not make an appearance for his bi-annual registration. He is also facing "failure to register" charges for not reporting his address change with in the allotted 10-day period.
According to Georgia state laws, failure to register is a misdemeanor punishable by 90 days jail time. A second failure to register offense also is a misdemeanor and carries a mandatory one year in prison. Third or subsequent offenses are felonies and carry a mandatory five years in prison. Offenders failing to register three or more times must serve a minimum of three years in prison.
Wjbf.com is now reporting that the defendant, Thomas Rhoden, has turned himself into police and is awaiting his arraignment.
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