The West Virginia State Police Ripley Detachment, working in conjunction with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Ripley and Ravenswood Police Departments, and the U.S. Marshal Service, is conducting a verification check this week of all registered sex offenders in Jackson County to verify their compliance with WV Sex Offender Registry requirements.
If found to have violated the requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act, the individuals will be arrested on felony charges for failing to update their sex offender registration.
The sweep has already led to some arrests on felony counts of failing to update sex offender registry status.
Yesterday, Sgt. S.E. Wolfe of the WVSP and U.S. Marshal M. Ingram arrested Jackson County’s only registered sexual predator, Edwin Hodge, on two felony charges of failure to update his sex offender registration.
Hodge was convicted in Ohio on charges of gross sexual misconduct and moved to Jackson County after serving a sentence for that crime.
According to Wolfe, this is Hodge’s second arrest for failing to update his registration status. Hodge was recently released from prison after serving a sentence for that crime. This time, Hodge allegedly had changed his appearance by growing a mustache and titled a vehicle without notifying the State Police as required under the Sex Offender Registry Act.
Individuals sentenced for failing to update their sex offender registration face up to one to five years in a state penitentiary; a second offense carries a possible sentence of10 to 25 years in jail.
