In June of 2004 the Governor of Tennessee signed into law the Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Act of 2004. This law completely changed the way sex offenders are registered and tracked in the state. The Sheriff’s Office point of contact for Sex Offender Registration is Investigator Jeff Morlock, in Criminal Investigations. He can be reached at (931) 648-0611 ext 5209 or jrmorlock@montgomerycountytn.org.
The State of Tennessee said that “repeat sexual offenders, sexual offenders who use physical violence and sexual offenders who prey on children are violent sexual offenders who present an extreme threat to the public safety. Sexual offenders pose a high risk of engaging in further offenses after release from incarceration or commitment, and protection of the public from these offenders is of paramount public interest”.
This new law requires the registration of sexual offenders along with a continuing requirement for them to report annually or quarterly, depending on their classification, to verify their information. Violations of the law are felonies with mandatory minimum jail sentences and fines established.
The Sheriff’s Office is spearheading a community-wide, multi agency approach to enforcing the new provisions of this law. This group includes among others the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, The Clarksville Police Department, The local District Attorneys Office (of which District Attorney General John Carney and Assistant District Attorney Chris Clark were instrumental in drafting the law), and the local State Probation and Parole Office.
The Sheriff’s Office’s has partnered with the Austin Peay State University Geographic Information System Department to provide a map of Montgomery County. This map is linked to the known locations of Registered Sexual Offenders in Montgomery County, whose information is releasable to the public (see FAQ).
If you have any information concerning an unregistered sexual offender or anyone who may be in violation of the registration law you may send an anonymous tip in the space below. Please include as much identifying information as possible about the offender.