A homeless sex offender is back behind bars after failing to register for nearly three months after being released from jail after a stint for possession of methamphetamine.
Terry Joseph Nolan, 60, is listed in the sex offender registry due to his conviction in 1996 for sexual battery by an adult on a victim under 12. As a result, he is required to register with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office quarterly during the months of February, May, August, and November.
On April 4, Nolan reported that he was going to be transient in the area of 1404 N. Citrus Blvd. in Leesburg. Because he registered as transient, he also must complete a transient check every 30 days. On April 19, Nolan was arrested by the Leesburg Police and charged with possession of methamphetamine, according to the sheriff’s office report.
When Nolan was released from the Lake County Jail on May 23, he agreed to report for sex offender registration within 48 hours, but he never did. On June 15, a sheriff’s deputy tried to find him at his listed transient location on Citrus Boulevard. The deputy spoke with several people at the homeless camp and showed them a picture of Nolan. They said he had been at the camp, but they didn’t allow him to stay. They said they hadn’t seen Nolan in months, the report said.
The next day, the deputy contacted Nolan’s adult son, who said he believed Nolan was still incarcerated because he refused to bond him out of jail. He said the last contact he had with his father was when he called from jail and he had no idea where he was, according to the report.
Later that day, sheriff’s detectives found Nolan at a Leesburg business and placed him under arrest. After being read his Miranda warning, he said he didn’t have transportation to Tavares to register, so that’s why he never did. But he also said he had visited his girlfriend, who resides in Tavares. When asked about the transient location he had previously provided, Nolan said he hadn’t been there since his arrest in April. He said he has been staying in a tent on CR 25A in South Leesburg and he sleeps on the floor of a local laundromat, the report said.
Nolan did not report to his required registration in May, nor did he report for his 30-day transient checks in June or July. Nolan also had a cell phone in his possession but did not have any cell phone numbers listed with his registration, according to the report.
Nolan was charged with failing to reregister as a sex offender as required, failing to report as a transient every 30 days in June and July, failing to report within 48 hours after vacating a residence, and failing to register a phone number change. He’s being held on $20,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Sept. 12.