RUTHERFORD – A sex offender registry compliance operation by the United States Marshals Service Middle District, in coordination with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Sex Offender Registry Unit, and assisted by multiple local law enforcement agencies, concluded this week with the check of close to 200 registered offenders in Rutherford County.
The three-day multi-agency saturation operation, dubbed Operation SOMAC (Sex Offender Maintaining Accountability and Compliance) was conducted from July 18-20 in Rutherford County, and included US Marshals, TBI special agents and intelligence analysts, and personnel from Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, Murfreesboro Police Department, Smyrna Police Department, and La Vergne Police Department.
The operation involved compliance checks of 194 registered sex offenders. Law enforcement teams made contact with 125 of those registered offenders. Of those where contact was made, 115 were in compliance. Reported violations included failure to report complete or correct registration information, residing at an unregistered address, and failure to obtain the required code on a driver’s license. Eleven of the sex offenders were arrested for other violations, including drug charges and illegal possession of a firearm, and were charged and booked by the local agencies. During the operation, law enforcement officers seized five weapons, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.
Sex offender registry compliance check operations such as this one have been conducted periodically in various counties across the state, involving the US Marshals Service and TBI, with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies.
