Sex offender verification; how law enforcement cracks down

After a six-hour standoff with police Sunday night, Christopher Moore’s criminal past includes failing to register as a sex offender.

According to the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, the last time Moore appeared to verify his sex offender status was in March, which is in violation of the law.

Moore is required to appear every 90 days to verify his address with the Sheriff’s Department, but Maj. Tom Reddin said it was likely that he didn’t come in and verify his address because he had some warrants.

Reddin told ABC 17 News that the department checks about four times a year to make sure sex offenders are following the law.

“We do surprise checks. We don’t announce it but we try to make sure they are following the law and are staying away from schools, day care,” Reddin said.

If you log onto the Boone County Sheriff’s Department website and search for registered offenders, you will see that Moore is on the map with an address on Cunningham Drive. But that may not be his address.

“Sometimes offenders lie at the address they are not at,” Reddin said. “Or they claim they are homeless, so we ask where they stay and then we check.”

Reddin said the responsibility really lies with residents and homeowners, who should check their neighborhood.

“We have the resources available to the public to do that. We don’t announce it or go knocking on doors, telling people they have a sex offender on their street,” he said.

Residents that live in the neighborhood in which Moore reportedly lives say it makes them feel uneasy to know that Moore had a violent past.

“We all have children in this neighborhood. We watch over everybody but you never know who lives down the street,” Gabriel Vilano said.

You can look at the Boone County registered offenders map here.