2 sex offenders arrested during checkup

DARE COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) - Two sex offenders were arrested on a variety of charges during a 4-county sex offender checkup operation, and only one man was not living at his reported address.

North Carolina Law Enforcement performed an operation made to ensure all registered sex offenders lived where they were registered and were abiding the law. Operation Pharos occurred in Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties and included a search of 95 registered sex offenders.

Local troopers were assisted by U.S. Marshals.

"They are violating the law. They have no respect for the law, so we got to hold them accountable," U.S. Marshal with the Eastern District of Virginia Scott Parker said.

Officers say only one man, 49-year-old Gregory Todd Richardson of Kill Devil Hills, was arrested for failing to properly report where he lives.

Three guns were seized from 41-year-old Eric Sykes of Columbia.

"They observed the individual coming out of his home holding weapons in his hand," Tyrrell County Sheriff Darryl Liverman.

Convicted felons are not allowed to carry guns.

"If we had not done this operation then these guns would be on the street that [could have been] used in a crime," Parker said.

WAVY.com stopped by the home of registered sex offender Richard James Bain, who was found at his registered address.

"They came here yesterday or the day before," Bain said. "They asked me if this is the place I live. I said, 'Yes.' I then took them inside and showed them all my clothes."

Bain pleaded guilty in 1998. He was driving a car of six children who claimed Bain touched them inappropriately.

"I did not touch them," Bain said. "I pleaded guilty because my lawyer said it was in my best interest to do so. I didn't have to go to prison."

Bain says he has been trying to get his name off the sex offender registry for the past 14 years. As for Bain and the rest of the sex offenders, Dare County Sheriff Doug Doughtie says it's imperative their locations are known.

"People know where these people live," Doughtie said. "People are very concerned who's living in the same blocks as they are. There is a heightened awareness for people who live around sex offenders. If they are doing something wrong, you can rest assured they would be called on."

Bain says he has accepted his situation.

"I may be on this thing (the sex offender registry) but I can't ask for a better life," Bain said. "I mean, nobody's bothering me and I'm not bothering anyone else."

Doughtie credits an investigator in his office who follows the sex offenders on a daily basis as well as concealed gun permits.