FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: |
March 28, 2008 |
Supervisory Deputy Gerardo Payan (915)
534-6018 / 6779 |
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Operation Guardian West Nets 68 Sex Offenders
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El Paso, TX – Operation Guardian West, a
multi-agency operation targeting registered sex offenders in the El Paso
border-plex concluded its initial phase today with 57 state and 11 federal
arrests.
The U.S. Attorney, District Attorney, U.S. Marshals, El Paso Police
Department and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department joined forces in
January to ensure the approximate 821 registered sex offenders in the El
Paso area were in compliance with applicable state and federal laws.
Since the passage of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006,
the U.S. Marshals have been working closely with the El Paso Police
Department and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department to investigate
registered sex offenders who have violated the newly enacted federal law.
This law creates national standards for state and federal sex offender
registration, requires states to conform their registration programs to the
standards passed by the law, and finally, provides significant federal
criminal penalties for knowingly failing to register or update registration.
Operation Guardian West was designed to investigate offenders’ compliance
with registration requirements and for those found to be non compliant, to
secure criminal complaints, state or federal, seeking their prosecution.
This operation was designed to compliment existing city and county
registration compliance initiatives. The agencies involved have committed
themselves and their resources to ensuring the safety of the community,
which is evidenced by El Paso’s classification as one of America’s safest
cities.
“This is only the first step in an on going process of maintaining a
constant focus on sex offenders residing in our community,” U.S. Marshal
LaFayette Collins said. “Convicted sex offenders must abide by the rule of
law and in the greater El Paso community; they must know the combined forces
of the law enforcement community will be watching and ready to act.”
During the three-month operation, 821 compliance investigations, work and
residential, were conducted resulting in 27 state warrants for offenders
within the jurisdiction of the El Paso Police Department and 45 state
warrants for offenders within the jurisdiction of the El Paso County
Sheriff’s Department. Additionally, 80 cases were referred to the U.S.
Marshals for investigation as possible violations of the Adam Walsh Act. Of
these 80 cases, 11 cases have been prosecuted federally and are in various
stages of litigation.
For more information on the U.S. Marshals, go to
www.usmarshals.gov. |
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