Checks by law enforcement officials for violations of Megan’s Law resulted in more than a dozen individuals facing charges.
The Pennsylvania State Police Megan’s Law Unit organized a law enforcement detail Wednesday to perform unannounced compliance checks for registered individuals in Scranton pursuant to the Pennsylvania Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office announced in a news release. During the investigation, state troopers, Scranton police detectives, Lackawanna County detectives, state parole agents and county probation officers knocked on doors in all the city’s neighborhoods to confirm registrants provided accurate information such as residence, place of employment, vehicle and internet identifiers.
Authorities found that of the 240 individuals investigated, at least 15 were found to be in violation of their registration requirements and are facing additional felony charges, the office said. In addition, county detectives made one drug arrest during the checks. There are approximately 40 rechecks that need to be conducted, the office added.
“Strict compliance with registration requirements is imperative to maintaining safe neighborhoods and communities, and violations will not be taken lightly in Lackawanna County,” District Attorney Brian Gallagher said in a statement. “For the safety of our children, it is critical that parents and grandparents know if there’s a convicted sex offender living nearby.”
It is the second compliance check conducted by authorities since January to make sure all registered sex offenders in Lackawanna County are complying with Megan’s Law. Authorities checked the registration compliance of another 200 sex offenders in other Lackawanna County municipalities in January. Of those, at least 12 were found to be in violation of their registration requirements. Participating in January’s detail were members of the state police, district attorney’s office, county probation office, and officers from the Carbondale, Mayfield, Blakely, Dunmore, Taylor and Moosic police departments.