Last week, several local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies teamed up to conduct a surprise Sex Offender Registry Check in Comal County. The unannounced check-up on local sex offenders included the U.S. Marshal’s Service and their Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, the Texas Attorney General’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit, the New Braunfels Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, the Comal County Sheriff’s Office, and the Comal County Adult Probation Office.
These compliance checks are normally conducted in October just ahead of Halloween, but in an effort to ensure the safety of the public, this surprise compliance check was held on Monday and Tuesday of last week (5/16 & 5/17), a full 5 months ahead of what is normally expected.
Over the span of those two days, NBPD conducted compliance checks on all 64 of the registered sex offenders that live in the city limits of New Braunfels. Of those 64, all were found to be in compliance with their state-mandated sex offender registry, which includes providing correct and up-to-date home and work addresses, phone numbers, and vehicle registration. It also requires that they keep a current Texas ID and some offenders are prohibited from using any type of social media. In all cases, offenders are required to provide DNA samples, and during this compliance check a total of 6 new offenders to the area provided their DNA which will now be entered into state and federal databases.
Although NBPD found 100% compliance during this operation, sex offenders that are found not to be in compliance with state law would face felony charges for Failure to Comply with Registration Requirements (Texas Code of Criminal Procedure: Article 62.102).
The New Braunfels Police Department would like to assure the public that the registered sex offenders living in New Braunfels are routinely monitored for compliance with state law, and more of these compliance checks will be coming in the future.