ATLANTA — At least 30 sex offenders are facing charges after a multi-agency initiative across Georgia.
From Oct. 25 to Nov. 1, 51 warrants were issued across Georgia by 66 law enforcement agencies as part of "Operation Watchful Eye IV," according to a statement from the Paulding County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office says the new warrants were issued for violations of the sex offender registry law. Three other warrants were issued for new sex offenses, another 26 were issued for residency violations and 13 more were issued for various new charges.
Deputies said sheriffs will have to work with other supporting agencies to track down the 467 sex offenders that had left their last known address.
Sex offenders are mandated by law to be registered and keep the public informed about where they reside, work, or attend school.
Operation Watchful Eye stems from a coordinated state effort, which first started in 2015, to conduct registered sex offender residence verifications and compliance checks, authorities said. The Georgia Sheriffs' Association also has a dedicated task force to help coordinate and elevate these efforts.
After the apparent "overwhelming success" of the original program, Georgia sheriffs made the initiative an annual operation, which led to the conduction of Operation Watchful Eye VI, its sixth operation.
According to preliminary reporting by the 66 participating sheriff's offices, 10,330 registered sex offenders, 341 predators, and 351 homeless sex offenders are living in their counties.