The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that it partnered with the United States Marshal Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in a joint operation to verify the compliance of the 580 sexual predators and sexual offenders in Osceola County Florida.
The compliance operation, titled “Squeaky Wheels” was funded by the Marshal Service and ran from April 12, through Sept. 1, 2021. Squeaky Wheels’ mission was to investigate sexual predators and offenders who were not compliant with the 22 conditions of the state statutes including residency status, internet usage, and employment.
The United States Marshal Service funded 450 hours of overtime for the Osceola County detectives to work beyond their normal schedules to accomplish the goals of the mission.
Forty-eight sexual offenders and predators were arrested for non-compliance, with 78 felony charges for failure to register and violation of sexual offender probation.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Detectives assisted the United States Marshal Service with the recovery of a missing juvenile from Virginia, and assisted the USMS Fugitive Unit with the apprehension of two homicide suspects.
Law Enforcement Officers involved not only charged the subjects with the failure to register violations but conducted 280 address verifications throughout the county with the assistance of the Kissimmee Police Department, St. Cloud Police Department, and State Probation and Parole.
Osceola County Sheriff Detectives seized 26 phones. Search warrants were obtained resulting in additional charges for probation violations and one arrest for six counts of possession of child pornography.
Through Squeaky Wheels, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office successfully enforced state, local, and federal laws, ultimately making Osceola County communities safer by apprehending non-compliant sexual offenders and predators.
Contact the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender Unit at 321-697-4416 or 321-697-4371 for any additional information or to ask questions about laws regarding sexual offenders or predators.
To search a database of sexual offenders or predators, including in your neighborhood, go to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office website (www.Osceolasheriff.org) and click on Sex Offenders, or to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (https://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/).
