A longtime Wood River Valley resident has been charged with a felony for allegedly failing to register as a sex offender for a crime committed 23 years ago in California.
Randall Scott Atkins, a 42-year-old resident of Indian Creek Road north of Hailey, is scheduled for arraignment Monday in Blaine County 5th District Court. Failure to register as a sex offender is punishable in Idaho by up to 10 years in prison.
Atkins was arrested by the Blaine County Sheriff's Office in early June and is now free on $5,000 bond.
He is now registered as a sex offender in Blaine County on the Idaho State Police sex offender registry. According to the registry, Atkins was convicted in 1987 in Monterey County, Calif., of "lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14." Atkins was 19 at the time of his conviction.
A probable-cause affidavit filed by sheriff's Deputy Corey Weatherly alleges that Atkins last registered as a sex offender in California in 1996 and has been in violation of registration requirements since then. Court records state that Atkins has lived in Blaine County for at least 13 years.
Weatherly wrote in the affidavit that the California registry requirement was discovered when he ran a background check on Atkins in connection with an unrelated crime investigation. Atkins was a possible witness in that case and not a suspect.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com