BENTON – The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man known to be a sexual predator after receiving information Friday that a sexual predator registered in Herrin may be living in Franklin County and in violation of the Sex Offender Registration Act.

According to Franklin County Sheriff Kyle Bacon, 34-year-old Jerry R. Dawson was charged with Unlawful Failure to Register as a Sex Offender – a Class 3 felony – and lodged in the Franklin County Jail.

After receiving the information about Dawson, sheriff’s detectives immediately began investigating the allegation. Soon after, Dawson was located and interviewed by detectives.

As a result of the interview and information collected in the investigation, Dawson was placed under arrest and transported to the Franklin County Jail. He was charged with the offense we mentioned earlier.

Sheriff Bacon says the public can access sex offender information on the Illinois State Police website or on the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office mobile app.