Sex Offenders Evicted From Virginia

By Connect Mason Reporter Rachael Dickson

One hundred and seventy one convicted criminal sex offenders will be removed from Virginia in a major action taken jointly by the Virginia State Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under the leadership of Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell.

“Operation Cold Play,” as the ICE called it in a Feb. 20 press release, is part of a multi-year effort targeting sex offenders nationwide. The groundwork for the action was laid in McDonnell’s 2006 work with the Virginia General Assembly to improve Virginia’s Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry.

Last year, the State Police, at McDonnell’s request, checked the birthplace of each individual on the registry and shared the information with ICE. The 527 name list was then run against two federal databases, finding that a great many had already left the country, or were incarcerated in Virginia or in federal prisons.

“This is a milestone in our effort to remove criminal illegal aliens from the Commonwealth,” McDonnell said in the press release.

“Using the data from our improved Sex Offender Registry, and the additional manpower of the troopers assigned to the new State Police Sex Offender Investigative Unit, we were able to get specific information to ICE and remove dangerous criminal alien sex offenders from Virginia. We have the resources in place to make significant progress in removing criminal aliens from our Commonwealth. Public safety demands that we utilize these resources.”