OPERATION BIG SANDY Nearly Two Dozen Sex Offenders Arrested
Reported by: Bethany Simmons
Web Producer: Bethany Simmons
Also Contributing: The Williamson Daily News
Reported: Aug. 23, 2012 11:17 AM EDT
Updated: Aug. 23, 2012 11:57 AM EDT
Eyewitness News Photo
Prestonsburg
, Floyd County
, Kentucky
A sex offender check in eastern Kentucky during the month of August netted nearly two dozen arrests.
Police and sheriff's departments in Floyd, Johnson, Letcher, Knott, Martin, and Perry counties worked to locate more than 275 registered sex offenders, according to the Williamson Daily News.
Their efforts are being called "Operation Big Sandy," with a mission to make sure those offenders were registered with up-to-date information, including their current address, and whether or not they were following restrictions on possessing weapons and using social media.
Twenty-two offenders were arrested. Nine of those individuals were charged with noncompliance with registration requirements and two were charged with violating social media restrictions by opening Facebook accounts, the newspaper reported.
Two sex offenders were arrested for having weapons in their possession.
Four sex offenders were arrested for offenses that were unrelated to their registration requirements.
Two offenders still have not been located and are now considered fugitives. The newspaper reported that law enforcement agencies are looking for Carl Wheeler, 35, whose last known address was in Meally, in Johnson County. The newspaper said Wheeler has been convicted of second-degree sodomy of a 12-year-old child.
They also are searching for Bryan Patrick Williams, 33, whose last known address was Kite, in Knott County. Williams was convicted of indecent liberties with a 15-year-old victim in North Carolina, the newspaper reported.
If you know either of their whereabouts, call the Kentucky State Police.
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