Sex Offenders and Social Media--Wilkes Investigations

Under a law enacted in 2008, registered sex offenders in North Carolina are not allowed to use social media websites.  The 2008 law makes it a felony for convicted sex offenders to create profiles on social networking websites, such as Facebook and MySpace, where children can be members.  "We need to protect our children, and this is one of the ways that we do it," North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper said.  As law enforcement agencies and investigators are becoming increasingly active in enforcing the laws by tracking down these online offenders.  Currently, the Wilkes Sheriff’s Office is investigating at least two different reports of registered sex offenders in our county using a social networking web site.  The investigations are still underway and additional charges are pending against both of these registered sex offenders in Wilkes.