A registered sex offender was employed as a costumed character at a fair in Mississippi, and readily posed in photographs with children, before greeting a police officer and subsequently being arrested, as reported by the Quad-City Times.
The man, J.L.R., 25, of Perry Street in Davenport, was arrested on an aggravated misdemeanor charge and remanded to Scott County Jail on August 8, 2011 - the same day he attended the Mississippi Valley Fair in costume.
J.L.R., dressed from head-to-toe as the furry Cookie Monster from the well-known Sesame Street children's program, was handing children fliers in his job for Q.C. Characters.
Besides the fliers, J.L.R. also offered children the opportunity of posing in photographs with him - and was seen by law enforcement doing just that.
At approximately 4:45 in the afternoon, J.L.R. then approached at police officer and simply said "hello" to him.
The officer, R.A., a member of the Scott County Sex Offender Task Force, was shocked to recognize what he thought was J.L.R.'s voice. In wanting to confirm his suspicions officer R.A. asked the "Cookie Monster" who he was.
J.L.R. removed the costume's head piece and identified himself to the officer.
Scott County Sheriff's Detective S.B. was then called to the fair - as he is in charge of keeping track of the county's sex offenders.
J.L.R., still wearing the body of the costume, was questioned by Detective S.B. in the fair's office.
Fair director B.F. said, "There he was, dressed like Cookie Monster, sounds weird."
J.L.R. was arrested after the interview and taken in to the Scott County Jail.
Due to his past record and conviction, J.L.R. can only attend a fair but is not allowed to work, or volunteer himself, in any way at a fair. Detective S.B. said, "He's not allowed to sell corn dogs, let alone be in a Cookie Monster outfit."
Per records, J.L.R. was convicted for lascivious acts with a 7 year-old girl in 2005.
A maximum two-year prison sentence can be handed down if J.L.R. is found guilty on a charge of sex offender prohibition of certain employment.
Any company that does business at the carnival - working the rides, renting or buying a booth - must submit a list of their employees. These lists are then given to fair management, and police, to perform background checks.
Detective S.B. said, "There's a lot of security, especially to ensure there are no sex offenders."
S.B. added that B.F. is known to hire several off-duty police officers just so that security is well-covered during the 6-day fair.
Q.C. Characters did not submit a list of their employees but, in their defense, B.F. said, "The company hired him to stand there and wave.
He was stupid enough to introduce himself to an officer."
Detective S.B. added "I don't know what motivated him to do that."
Contact a criminal defense attorney if you are facing charges. Mounting a solid defense for your alleged actions is critical in avoiding jail time.
