Authorities Plaster Sex Offender's Name and Photo on Billboards Around Town…There's Just One Problem

U.S. Marshals, Crime Stoppers and the Marion County, Indiana, sheriff's department have launched a joint effort this holiday season to arrest known sex offenders who've failed to register as such. The names and faces of at least 40 offenders have been flashed across three electronic billboards as part of the increased initiative, according to local media.

Image source: WXIN-TV

But one of the offenders, Jeffery Schmidt, won't be going to jail anytime soon. That's because he died last year.

“I don’t feel like that’s right, They shouldn’t have put that up, they should have had that checked out before they did this,” Schmidt's mother, Betty Smith, told WXIN-TV.

As a mother trying to move past her son's death, Smith said she was reminded of all the memories when she saw a photo of him depicted as a man on the run.

"That’s their mistake, they need to follow up on that,” she said.

A different offender wanted in Indiana. (Image source: WXIN-TV)

John Beeman, supervisory inspector for the U.S Marshals Service, acknowledged, “It was just one that got through."

Authorities missed it somewhere along the line, Beeman admitted. He said Schmidt would be removed from all three of the billboards.

Overall, the effort appears to be working: authorities have cleared seven warrants, including the one for Schmidt.

(H/T: WXIN-TV)

–

Follow Jon Street (@JonStreet) on Twitter