ROCK SPRINGS – Sweetwater County detectives carried out a sweep of registered sex offender compliance checks throughout Sweetwater County last week.

Sheriff Rich Haskell said Sheriff’s Office detectives carried out nearly 100 registered offender compliance checks in Sweetwater County in Rock Springs, Green River, Farson-Eden, Wamsutter, Superior, and Bairoil. Two registered offenders were found to be non-compliant, which is a felony offense. Charges are being filed against both.

Sex offenders as defined in Wyoming statute must be in compliance with state law by registering with the state Division of Criminal Investigation through local Sheriff’s Offices.

Offenders are photographed and fingerprinted. They must also provide a range of information, including address, place of employment, and vehicle information. In addition, they are also required to notify authorities if they move or change jobs.

Offender’s photographs, plus additional information, are then posted on the DCI website at https://wysors.dci.wyo.gov/sor/ . The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office website provides a link to the state’s registration pages.

The national sex offender registry website at www.nsopw.gov is maintained by the United States Department of Justice. The site is called the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Website after Dru Kathrina Sjodin, a University of North Dakota student who was the victim of kidnapping, rape, and murder in 2003 at the hands of convicted sex offender Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr. Rodriguez was found guilty of Sjodin’s murder and sentenced to death in 2006.

“We do these checks to make sure that registered offenders are where they are supposed to be and in compliance with the law. If they aren’t, we file charges against them,” Haskell said.

Earlier this month, sex offender James Joe Nordwall, 58, received seven separate 45-50 year prison sentences in District Court in Green River on four counts of First Degree Rape and three counts of Sexual Assault in the First Degree for crimes reaching as far back as the early 1970s.

Sheriff’s Office detectives began their investigation in the Nordwall case when it was discovered that he had not registered as a sex offender upon his release from the Wyoming State Penitentiary, where he’d served time on sexual assault charges.

The lead investigator in the case, Detective Michelle Hall, discovered the existence and identities of sexual assault and rape victims of Nordwall’s from 1971, 1973, 1989, and 1992. Hall filed her charges with prosecutors and arrested Nordwall, who was found guilty at trial in March. The charges involved five female victims, several of which were children age 12 to 14 at the time.

Detective Sergeant John Grossnickle explained that the recent sweep was part of an operation that has been ongoing since 2009 called “Operation Jessica” for nine-year-old Jessica Marie Lunsford, who was abducted, raped, and murdered in Homosassa, Florida in 2005 by 47-year-old John Couey, a convicted sex offender who lived near her. An autopsy determined that Couey buried Jessica alive in garbage bags and she suffocated to death.

Couey was sentenced to death in 2007, but died in prison of natural causes in 2009.

County detectives often team up with the United States Marshals Service in carrying out sex offender compliance check sweeps. A total of 910 checks were conducted in Laramie, Natrona, Fremont, Uinta, and Converse Counties, as well as Sweetwater County. Seven arrests were made and charges are pending against a total of 12 offenders.

“We always have and always will actively pursue cases involving non-compliant registered sex offenders,” said Haskell. “Combining our resources with that of the Marshals Service has proved an effective strategy for five years now, and we intend to continue being actively involved.”