South Cook News

There was one new registered sex offender living in Edwards County in the week ending Jan. 5 compared to the week before, according to the Illinois Police Sex Offender Registry.

The Registry showed that, in total, 11 sexual offenders were living in Edwards County, compared to 10 the week before.

The offender who moved to Edwards County at the time is a sexual predator.

Sexual predators and child murderers remain on the registry for the rest of their lives. Sexually violent people are no longer listed 10 years after their conviction.

The offender moving into Edwards County may have been recently convicted or moved from other cities in the US.

According to a 2024 study by SafeHome.org, Illinois ranks fifth in the total number of registered sex offenders, with more than 34,000 living in the state.

Nationally, the study found over 795,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. as of August 2024 — an increase of approximately 8,000 compared to 2023.

Offender	Title	Status	Crime
Howard Dale Lake	Non-verified Child Sex Offender	Compliant	Grooming
Leonard Cook	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Aggravated child pornography
Dereck Wayne Welty	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Aggravated criminal sexual abuse/victim 13-16
Fawaz Y. Altaher	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Aggravated criminal sexual abuse/victim 13-16
Kevin Roberts	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Aggravated criminal sexual abuse/victim 13-16
Robert Persiani	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Aggravated criminal sexual abuse/victim 13-16
Terry L. Mize	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Aggravated criminal sexual abuse/victim 13-16, Child sex offender present in a school zone and Violate sex offender registration
James Wallace Smith	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Aggravated criminal sexual abuse/victim <13, Failure to register new residence/school and Violate sex offender registration
Richard A. Willette	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Aggravated criminal sexual assault/victim <9 and Criminal sexual assault/force
Martin Contreras	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Child pornography victim less than 13
Douglas C. Bartlett	Sexual Predator	Compliant	Criminal sexual assault/victim 13-17/2nd