Fulton Co. Sheriff’s Office searching for 400 registered sex offenders

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Investigators in Fulton County are searching for more than 400 registered sex offenders who call the state’s largest county home.

Officials say Fulton County has more than 2,400 registered sex offenders, making it the county with the largest sex offender population in the state.

“Being a sex offender doesn’t have a race and it doesn’t have a color and it doesn’t have a size,” Sgt. Erica Williams, who runs Fulton County’s Sex Offender unit, told Channel 2′s Michael Seiden.

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Williams said she and her team recently participated in “Operation Watchful Eye VIII,” an initiative involving 73 Georgia Sheriffs.

They also received assistance from the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, and Fairburn, East Point, Sandy Springs, and Atlanta Public Schools Police Departments.

The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) sent Channel 2 Action News the following numbers from the operation:

Operation Watchful Eye VIII – October 30 – November 6, 2023

Fulton County Sheriff’s Office

• Total Registered Offenders - 2,436
• Residential Verifications - 1,310
• Newly Registered Offenders - 8
• Homeless Offenders - 368
• Sexually Dangerous Predators - 69
• Absconders - 417
• Arrest - 1

Officials with FCSO reported that over 130 offenders have relocated without notifying the sheriff’s office and have failed to register with another agency.

FCSO has three uniformed field units responsible for conducting daily residential verifications and gathering intelligence and apprehending absconded offenders. Earlier this year, FCSO added two new Criminal Information Systems Technicians to help register offenders in the office and conduct audits of the records and files.

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Preliminary reporting by the 73 participating sheriff’s offices revealed that there are currently 12,092 registered sex offenders, 466 predators, and 552 homeless sex offenders living in their counties.

You can visit the Fulton County Sheriff’s website or download its app to check sex offenders in your neighborhood.

You can also visit your local sheriff’s office website or visit the GBI offender registry for more information on the whereabouts of registered sex offenders in your community.

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