ALERT for Montgomery County, Tennessee. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office has just completed a “compliance check” aimed specifically at people required to register on Tennessee’s sexual offender registry. During these so-called compliance checks, the local Sheriff’s Office assembles a multiple-agency task force, usually consisting of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for operational support and United States Marshals for muscle. They typically divide into teams consisting of at least four (4) agents. Those teams then go to the house and workplace of everyone on the registry. They request consent to enter property, look at computers, and search phones. They send large teams to outnumber and intimidate those that they are investigating, hoping to gain consent to enter and search.

This recent operation was no different. Teams of agents and US Marshals spread throughout the county looking for violations of the sexual offender registry, including small technical violations.

Our team of criminal defense lawyers has decades of experience litigating sex offender registry cases. In fact, Partner Chris Clark helped write the law and prosecuted the first violation under the new law passed in 2004. As a prosecutor, he participated in these types of operations. He now uses that knowledge to protect the rights of people required to register in Tennessee. If you or someone you know has been accused of violating the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registry, please call and speak directly with an attorney at Patton | Pittman by calling (931) 361-4477.