TROY – For Craig Cross, the details of his job are significant and the weight of it is enormous, something he takes very seriously, all for the sake of safety. As the Lincoln County Sex Offender Registrar, he is responsible for helping facilitate sex offender registrations in the county.

In fact, Cross says the sex offender registry in Lincoln County “works well” and The Sex Offender Compliance Unit “expertly manages 200-plus offenders and has a 98.5 compliancy rate.” In part, that is due to effective communication with other counties and tipsters within the Lincoln County community.

For example, three summers ago, cooperation between two law enforcement agencies led to the apprehension of a sex offender.

“A detective from St. Charles County called me on a long shot,” Cross said. “He had a lady who was jogging close to the border of both our counties when a naked man exited his vehicle and began to run toward her. He gave a brief description of the man and asked if we had any sex offenders who live close to that area. I had two offenders in mind, and I provided pictures of both. His victim identified one of the offenders immediately. That offender admitted his guilt and was subsequently charged. We have very good communication on offender movement with other counties as well.”

The number of offenders on the sex offender registry in Lincoln County is currently at 199. The primary purpose of the registry is to keep people from being victimized, especially children and to hold predators accountable.

Any individual that is convicted of a misdemeanor or felony sex crime is put on the registry. This includes convicted individuals disclosing to the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) personal information including name, offense and address. That information is then shared with the public via an online database.

While MSHP administers the sex offender registry, it is the responsibility of the county sheriff to keep an accounting of the perpetrators in their county.

“When an offender is out of compliance, it is the job of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Sex Offender Compliance Unit to investigate the matter and get the offender back to a compliant state if possible. Offenders out of compliance can and will be referred for prosecution,” Cross said.

Depending upon the seriousness of the offense, perpetrators are split up into one of Three Tier sex offender groups and have to register in person at LCSO.

At the bottom with the least severity is Tier 1. These offenders must register yearly during their birth month. The same goes for Tier II offenders except their registration is semi-annually while the most severe perpetrators, Tier III, register every 90 days.

“Offenders are not permitted to live within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare and may not loiter within 500 feet either,” Cross said of the parameters of state statues pertaining to persons convicted of misdemeanor and felony sexual offenses. “Offenders may not reside or loiter within 500 feet of a public park, pool, or playground. Certain offenders may not participate in Halloween activities. All offenders must keep their registration up-to-date and report any changes to the LCSO within three business days. This is just a few of the requirements the state requires of a registered sex offender.”

Even though Lincoln County has had overall successful compliance with sex offender registration, no system is perfect nor full proof.

“Like most counties, we do occasionally have issues with sex offenders failing to register or update their information, but overall, our numbers have stayed fairly low,” noted Lincoln County Sheriff Rick Harrell.

According to Cross, two Tier III offenders, Donovan Daller and Robert Wolf, are currently out of compliance. Daller, convicted of three counts of felony child molestation, last registered nearly two years ago in September 2023. Wolf was convicted felony statutory rape and sodomy and last registered in April.

No matter the tier of offender, Cross says the state mandates that each perpetrator must report current information of their residence, work, vehicles and online presence as well as other necessary information. He says most offenders are aware of their responsibility and stay compliant.

“LCSO consistently deals with the same 7-10% of offenders who refuse to register properly. This group of habitually noncompliant offenders are also career criminals that will never follow the law regardless the repercussions,” he said.