By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office is changing its policy on sex offender registration in the wake of discovering two Rowan County sex offenders living near a school and day care.
Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Sifford said the Sheriff’s Office previously used online programs like MapQuest to check the areas around where sex offenders lived, but will now be physically going door-to-door to make sure there are no violations with the residence.
“Previously the detectives would use a function on the computer which asked for any day cares or schools,” Sifford said.
But that changed when deputies were notified this week that Bryan Oneal Taylor, arrested last week on charges of felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver cocaine and felony possession of drugs within 1,000 feet of a school, is a sex offender.
Taylor listed his address in the arrest report as 923 S. Caldwell Drive, near Salisbury High School, but is no longer living there. Detectives are investigating the alleged violation.
Sifford also said detectives investigated the residence of Adrian Green, a Spencer resident and convicted sex offender, who was asked this week to move when authorities learned he was living less than a block from a day care.
“Our investigators made contact with him,” Sifford said. “He is in violation and will be moving to conform with the present law.”
Green, of 118 10th St., Spencer, was convicted in 2004 on two counts of indecent liberties with a minor in Guilford County.
The Sheriff’s Office monitors 305 sex offenders in the county and handles registration and address changes for other local law enforcement agencies.
“The new policy is that anytime we do an initial registration or an address change, then an officer will personally go out to that location and make sure there are no violations,” Sifford said.
The Sheriff’s Office continues to monitor sex offenders between location changes and registration updates, Sifford said.
“Each week we have four patrol squads, each squad is given three sex offenders that each are responsible for,” Sifford said. “So 48 to 50 per month are personally checked on.”