Sex Offender Charged in Southeast With Failure to Report His Whereabouts
Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports that a registered sex offender has been arrested for failing to report where he was residing within the Town of Southeast.
Mr. William M. Deitz, aged 66, was arrested on Thursday, April 2nd, after he was found in an apartment at 2469 Route 6 in Southeast. Mr. Deitz, who is a registered “level 3” (high risk) sex offender, had last reported that he was living at the Henry Van Motel on Sodom Road in that town.
Investigators allege that he moved out of the motel in the latter part of last year and subsequently failed to report a new address. The New York State Sex Offender Registration Act, commonly referred to as Meghan’s Law, requires registered sex offenders to report an address change to the State Sex Offender Registry or to a local law enforcement agency within 10 days.
The Sheriff’s Office posted a wanted flyer for Mr. Deitz on its department website on March 31st, seeking information from the public concerning his whereabouts. Within two days, investigators received a call from a tipster who reported that he saw the flier on a social media site and recognized the suspect as a man who was living at the Route 6 apartment under the alias of “Mickey.” Within an hour of receiving the tip, an investigator and a deputy sheriff went to the apartment, located Mr. Deitz there, and took him into custody on an arrest warrant.
Mr. Deitz was arraigned in the Town of Southeast Justice Court and was remanded to the Putnam County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 bail. He remains held in the jail as of the time of this News Release and is scheduled to return to the court to answer the charge on April 14th. Mr. Deitz’s alleged failure to report his change of address is a class E felony, which is punishable by up to four years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000 upon conviction.
