RSO Conducts Sexual Offender Sweep

Members of the Riverside County Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Team (SAFE) conducted a sexual offender holiday enforcement sweep on Saturday, Jan. 4 about 7 a.m. a.m. at several locations throughout Riverside County.

During the sweep, law enforcement attempted to contact registered sex offenders within Riverside County to ensure each offender is in compliance with state requirements pursuant to California Penal Code section 290.

It is the second compliance sweep in about two months. Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies contacted 80 sex offenders on Oct. 30 to verify compliance with all registration requirements as well as all terms and conditions of parole or probation.

During the compliance sweep, 91 attempts were made to contact these sexual offender registrants. 73 were found to be in compliance, 16 registrants were suspected of being out of compliance and 2 were discovered to have recently passed away. Task Force Officers are completing follow-up investigations into those found to be out of compliance and anticipate additional arrest warrants to be submitted to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

Task Force Officers also conducted a 290/parole compliance check of 50-year-old Jurupa Valley resident, Michael Durbin. Penal Code 290 is the California statute that makes it a crime for a sex offender to fail to register as one with the local authorities.

During the compliance check, task force officers located two loaded shotguns and a loaded handgun. One of the shotguns had been previously reported stolen out of San Bernardino County.

Additionally, body armor, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and several rounds of live ammunition were located. Durbin was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for the following charges: felon in possession of loaded firearms with methamphetamine, felon in possession of body armor, felon in possession of a stolen firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, prior prison terms, and parole violation.

The (SAFE) Task Force is funded through the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) grant. The task force is comprised of members of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Riverside County Probation Department, Riverside County District Attorney Office, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and State Parole with the goal of combating sex crimes within Riverside County.

The purpose of the (SAFE) task force is to identify, monitor and enforce registration requirements for sex offenders who reside in Riverside County.

Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Investigator Boyd with the (SAFE) Task Force at (951) 955-5486. Additional information can be found at Megan’s Law.  

Citizens may also submit an anonymous tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form by clicking here.