Tuesday, September 3rd 2024, 10:21 pm
Convicted sex offender Jimcy McGirt has been arrested in Seminole County, accused of failing to register as a sex offender.
McGirt’s case got national attention in 2020 when his appeals led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule the State of Oklahoma didn’t have the jurisdiction to prosecute McGirt because he is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
McGirt was released in May after serving a 30-year sentence for sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl.
When he was released, he was given a list of rules he had to follow.
One of those was registering as a sex offender.
Chris Coker, the Police Chief for Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police, says one of his officers responded to a call on Aug. 31 at 11:30 p.m. of a kidnapping attempt.
He says two sets of children told their parents that a man approached them and asked questions about where they lived and if they had food in their house.
Police say their investigation led them to a house where McGirt was staying.
Coker says McGirt said his car had broken down on Aug. 25 and he was only staying there until it was fixed.
McGirt said that he had notified his probation officer. But, the probation officer told police he had not been contacted.
Police say his probation officer said that McGirt was not to be staying at that home and needed to register his address.
McGirt was arrested and accused of failing to register as a sex offender.
The officer noticed several items with McGirt that made it seem like McGirt was staying at the home longer than a matter of days.
McGirt was convicted of sexually assaulting a four-year-old in Wagoner County in 1997 before that conviction was later dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled in McGirt vs. Oklahoma in 2020 that the state could not prosecute tribal members for crimes committed on tribal land.
The Supreme Court judges ruled those cases had to be tried in either federal court or tribal court.
McGirt’s case was later prosecuted in federal court.
McGirt agreed to a plea deal and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Because he had already spent that time in prison, McGirt was released in May.
Some of McGirt’s requirements from the judge included registering as a sex offender, letting his probation officer know if his living situation changes, and not associating with kids under the age of 18.
Wagoner County District Attorney Jack Thorp sent News On 6 a statement saying in full:
“That was my biggest fear, that he would get out and reoffend or attempt to reoffend. He is a convicted pedophile and a danger to our communities. He belongs behind bars.”
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