FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: March 28, 2008 Supervisory Deputy Gerardo Payan (915) 534-6018 / 6779   Operation Guardian West Nets 68 Sex Offenders   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.