Seven Mid-Missouri men were recently charged with felonies for failure to register as sex offenders, Callaway County Sheriff Clay Chism said.
Six of them last had Callaway County addresses while one was from Jefferson City.
On Feb. 18, they were charged by Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher D. Wilson. This was the result of sheriff's office investigations across the county concerning violations of the sex offender registry. Convicted offenders are required to register with current residences by state law. One of those charged, Ian Sims, 36, remains an outstanding fugitive and was last known to live in Auxvasse.
Those charged include:
Matthew Leavell, 30, of Holts Summit. Leavell is now incarcerated in the Boone County Jail for unrelated offenses and will be returned later to Callaway County. He was convicted in 2011 of second-degree child molestation of a 14-year-old female in Columbia.
Darren Yancey, 30, of Kingdom City. Yancey was located by Fulton Police and arrested. He posted bond pending a court appearance. He was convicted in 2010 of first-degree child molestation of an 8-year-old male in Fulton.
Michael Carver, 41, of Holts Summit. Carver is now incarcerated in the state Department of Corrections for unrelated offenses and will be returned later to Callaway County. He was convicted in 2000 on three charges of second-degree statutory rape and two charges of second-degree sodomy of a 13-year-old female in Bland.
Tommy Smith, 33, of Jefferson City. Smith was located by the Cole County Sheriff's Office and arrested. He posted bond pending a court appearance. He was convicted in 2004 of sexual assault of a 12-year-old female in Jefferson City.
Thomas Byrd, 55, of Williamsburg. Byrd is now incarcerated in the state Department of Corrections for unrelated offenses and will be returned later to Callaway County. He was convicted in 1999 of second-degree statutory rape (offense in Columbia of a 14-year-old female) and endangering the welfare of a child (offense in Boone County of a female victim).
Michael Hook, 57, of Fulton. Hook was located by court marshals and arrested. He later posted bond pending a court appearance. He was convicted in 1986 of sodomy of a 7-year-old female in Fulton.
Ian Anthony Sims, 36, an outstanding fugitive who lived in Auxvasse. Chism said he may be in the Kansas City area and is considered a fugitive from justice. He was convicted in 2006 in Platte City of second-degree statutory rape of a 15-year-old female.
Sims, a white man, is 5 feet, 8 inches tall, 160 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair. According to the registry, he is heavily tattooed on his arms, left shoulder and left leg, back and chest, and has a scar on his abdomen.
Chism said the sheriff's office is tasked with maintaining the sex offender registry for Callaway County and supervising registered offenders, including those residing within municipalities. He added there are about 165 registered sex offenders in the county on any given day.