A registered sex offender in Chocowinity was arrested May 24 for failing to tell authorities he had moved, according to a press release from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies learned Bobby Ray Boone, 58, had moved to Benjamin Road from his previous registered address and was living within 1000 feet of a school, also a violation of his sex offender registration.

The sheriff’s office keeps tracks of the registered offenders.

“They have to register their address with us, plus we do routine checks and surprise visits,” said Major Kenneth Watson. “We pick up that they’ve moved by those surprise checks.”

Registered offenders are required to report to the sheriff’s office twice a year. If they don’t, deputies are tasked with locating them, according to Watson.

“There are fairly restrictive rules and require some pretty proactive steps on (the sex offender’s) part to avoid violations,” Watson explained.

Boone was arrested by patrol deputies and released on a $1000 unsecured bond set by Magistrate Donald Sadler. He was charged with failure to report address change by sex offender and one count of sex offender residence violation, residing within 1000 feet of educational property.