A Middletown man with prior convictions for failing to register as a sex offender was arrested following a Butler County Sheriff’s Office compliance operation. Sheriff Richard K. Jones said deputies arrested 35-year-old Eric Jabbar Jernigan-Saunders on May 21 after investigators determined he was no longer living at his registered address during a countywide Sex Offender Registration and Notification compliance check conducted the day before. Deputies developed information about a possible location for Jernigan-Saunders and later took him into custody with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, also known as SOFAST. Authorities said concerned neighbors provided information that helped locate him. According to the sheriff’s office, Jernigan-Saunders has prior convictions from 2013 and 2015 for failure to register. “Some of these offenders think they can avoid responsibility by failing to register or disappearing from their listed address,” Sheriff Jones said in a statement. “We will continue to aggressively track down sex offenders who refuse to follow the law.”

(Editor's Note: AI-Assisted Copy)
(Photo Courtesy: Butler County Sheriff's Office)