MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon Municipal Court Judge Paul Spurgeon set bond Wednesday for four sex offenders arrested as a result of Operation Autumn Sweep, a Knox County sweep to make sure convicted sex offenders are compliant with registration.
All four offenders’ bonds were set at $25,000 each with no 10 percent bail allowed.
Assistant prosecutor Jennifer Springer read the charges beginning with Larry McWilliams of Fredericktown, who was charged with a second-degree felony offense of pandering obscenity and creating and publishing material involving a minor child for an Oct. 5 incident.
He was also charged with a second-degree felony of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor on the same date.
The charges involved 225 photo and/or videos. The sentence, the judge informed him, could be as much as eight years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines. Springer requested bond be set at $25,000 cash with no 10 percent bail and the judge concurred.
Mark Kirk of Mount Vernon was charged with a third-degree felony of pandering obscenity involving a minor and a fourth-degree felony of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor on Oct. 9.
Springer cited two previous offenses and asked that bond be set for $25,000 with no 10 percent bail stating that the prosecutors believe he is a danger to himself and others. Kirk disagreed that he was a danger.
Surgeon agreed with the requested bond.
David Dixon of Mount Vernon was charged for an Oct. 9 offense in which he failed to provide notice of his change of address, a third-degree felony. An earlier charge resulted from a May 6 sexually oriented offense. The third-degree failure to notify offense bears the possible sentence of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
“I don’t know what to say,” Dixon told the judge, “I’m not running.”
Bond was set at $25,000 with no 10 percent bail.
Carl F. Bagent Jr. of Mount Vernon was charged with pandering obscenity involving a minor including 15,000 photos and 280 videos on Oct. 5. It is a second degree felony.
He was also charged with pandering with the knowledge of photographing and filming involving a minor child. The sentence could entail eight years in prison and over $15,000 in fines.
Springer stated that due to the serious nature, bond should be set at $25,000 with no 10 percent bail and Judge Spurgeon set bond at that amount.
Preliminary hearings were set for the four defendants today.
All 83 registered offenders were visited and officers are finishing up verifying information from offenders who responded to door hangers left at their addresses.
Clarification
Katelynn Cooper, Jessica Ferenbaugh, Brian Jose and Donna Sapp should not have been listed as registered sex offenders in the story in Thursday’s News about the results of Operation Autumn Sweep.
The sheriff’s office released the names to the media as being arrested for probation violations and included them as part of the sex offender sweep.
The four persons were not on the registered sex offenders list, but happened to be checked on by officers and probation officers conducting the sweep.
Contact Rhonda Bletner
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