Grant sex offender audit finds four of five offenders in violation

GRANT, Neb.  -- During the latter part of last week, the Perkins County Sheriff's Office conducted an audit of the registered sex offenders in the city of Grant.

Per the City Ordinances, sex offenders that meet a certain classification criteria, are not allowed to live within 500 feet of a school or licensed daycare. This is determined by using a measurement that is taken from property line to property line. Much of the language for the ordinances is found in the Sex Offender Registry Act of the Nebraska Revised Statutes, which provides for municipalities to enact and enforce ordinances that comply with the spirit of the act and the letter of the law.

The audit found that four out the five registered sex offenders living within the city limits were in violation of the ordinances. The violators were each given warnings and two business days to comply with ordinances or face fines that could have ranged from $100 to $500 per day on a graduated schedule. A grace period was provided for the long Labor Day weekend as well.

As a result of this enforcement action, one of the offenders quickly moved back to his home state. Another was found to be non-compliant in his registry. He did not update authorities when he moved away a few years ago. The two other offenders found alternate locations to reside and updated their registries to come into compliance with the ordinances.

The Sex Offender Registry is administered by the Nebraska State Patrol, and they have a search tool on their website which is available to the public. It can be found at https://sor.nebraska.gov/ and is fairly simple to navigate. Any questions or concerns about registered sex offenders residing or working in Perkins County can be directed to Perkins County Sheriff's Office or the Nebraska State Patrol.