UPDATED 2-10-16 @4:15 pm: Joseph Townsend was apprehended in Bullhead City, Arizona, around 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, by U.S. Marshals and CDCR’s Office of Correctional Safety, according to California State Adult Parole Operations Supervisor Larry Dorsey. No further details were immediately available.
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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a $20,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Joseph Townsend, a convicted sex offender who cut off his GPS monitor and disappeared after child pornography was allegedly discovered on his phone.
“As you can see with the reward offered by the county, this individual is extremely dangerous and continues to pose a threat to the community,” California State Adult Parole Operations Supervisor Larry Dorsey said Wednesday morning.
Townsend, 34, was last seen on Friday, Feb. 5, near 140th Street East and Avenue Q in Lake Los Angeles, according to Dorsey.
Earlier that day, Townsend’s parole agent conducted a routine home visit at Townsend’s trailer on the 39000 block of 145th Street East. The agent left the residence after receiving information that the parolee had child pornography on his phone, Dorsey said.
The agent went to the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station to initiate the paperwork to take Townsend into custody, then Townsend cut off his GPS ankle monitor and vanished, according to Dorsey.
“We do consider this individual to be dangerous, especially around kids, and we just want the public to be aware,” Dorsey said last week. “Not only did he have child porn, he also had videos and still photographs of underage children, which is very concerning.”
Townsend was paroled in June of 2015 after serving time for possession of child pornography involving a person under 18, according to Dorsey. He has a prior conviction for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 by force or fear, according to the Megan’s Law website.
Townsend may be on the run with a female who turned 18 in October of last year, Dorsey said.
“We believe he’s traveling with an 18-year-old female from northern California, so we’re also looking at the possibility that he may have left or is trying to leave the Antelope Valley,” Dorsey said.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved Supervisor Michael Antonovich’s motion for a $20,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of Townsend, according to spokesman Tony Bell.
“I want to thank the Board of Supervisors for approving the reward, and hopefully someone will contact the law enforcement agencies and bring him into custody,” Dorsey said.
Anyone with information on the location of Joseph Townsend is encouraged to contact the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station at 661-948-8466, the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station at 661-272-2400 or the Antelope Valley Parole Office at 661-729-0530 ext. 225.
Previous related story: Sex offender on the loose after cutting ankle monitor
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No LEAPS says
You mean they caught this creep without the help of the $10 million dollar Eye In the Sky? How?
Flint says
Okay you guys seriously, this is not a big deal. These guys rarely reoffend. It’s the ones that haven’t been caught that you have to worry about. I’d trust this guy with any of your kids.
smokey says
I am guessing you are being sarcastic. And that by ‘these guys’ you mean those required to register as sex offenders. The irony is that you are correct, in that of the over 100,000 individuals required to register under Penal Code 290 5% or less re-offend.
That is not my hypothesis, that is decades of research compiled by the California Sex Offender Management Board, an agency created by then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not exactly a bleeding heart liberal.
They also report that 95% of sex crimes are committed by someone with no prior record for this thing. 90% of sex crimes against children are committed by someone known and trusted, most likely a family member. Another thing they report is that, statistically speaking, a person with a general criminal record is just as likely as a person with a sex crime conviction 17 or more in the past.
THOSE are the facts, and that is the research. Based on that I would not trust my kid with any of you people. Or my spouse. Or myself. Oy vey.
Justice says
Joseph, you can run, you can hide but you will be found. I will bring you in. I will cause you to see the error in your ways. Repent, dear Joseph, before its too late.
Curious says
Who was the parole agent. Hope he does not harm anyone.