There were 14 registered sex offenders living in Taliaferro County as of the week ending Nov. 1, according to the Georgia Sex Offenders Registry.
The Registry shows that none of these sex offenders are sexual predators. In Georgia, a sexual predator is an individual who is determined by the Sexual Offender Registration Review Board to be at risk of perpetrating any future dangerous sexual offense.
The Registry also shows that four of these sex offenders are currently incarcerated.
Sex offenders in Georgia remain on the Sexual Offender Registry for life unless removed by a court order or other legal means. Any individual who fails to register when required “shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 30 years,” according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Under Georgia law, sex offenders must register with the sheriff in their county of residence, employment, and schooling. They must update their information within 10 days of any change and notify authorities when moving in or out of state.
The number of registered sex offenders in the U.S. has climbed to approximately 795,000 as of August 2024—an increase of nearly 43,000 individuals (about 6%) since 2019. As of that same month, Georgia’s registry includes around 24,730 individuals.
| Offender | Status | Crime |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Lee Hedden | Incarcerated | Sexual battery against a child under 16 years of age |
| Cathy Lynn Rimes | Not Incarcerated | Pimping of a person under 18 years of age |
| Dennis Durell Thornton | Not Incarcerated | Child molestation |
| Horace Lamar Wheeler | Not Incarcerated | Child molestation |
| James Scott | Incarcerated | Child molestation |
| Joshua Quamaine Edwards | Not Incarcerated | Statutory rape |
| Kenneth Charles Lawson | Not Incarcerated | Aggravated child molestation |
| Latara Maria Harris | Not Incarcerated | Sexual assault against person in custody, on probation or parole, patient in a hospital etc |
| Marcus Shamar Milner | Incarcerated | Sexual exploitation of children |
| Patrick Nicholas Alexander | Not Incarcerated | Child molestation |
| Quadarius Tremon Thornton | Not Incarcerated | Child molestation |
| Ricky Eugene Herrington | Not Incarcerated | Child molestation |
| Russell Recardo Milton | Not Incarcerated | Child molestation |
| Shawn Randall Barns Jr. | Incarcerated | Enticing a child for indecent purposes |
