Another Predatory Offender Goes Missing from Hopkins

For the second time in about a month, charges have been filed against a predatory offender who provided authorities with an incorrect address and then disappeared.

Matthew James Rhoades, 26, listed Hopkins Park Plaza as his address April 2, 2011, Detective Raymond Laudenbach wrote in a criminal complaint filed Friday. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension sent a verification letter to the address Aug. 15, 2011, but the letter was returned as undeliverable.

Officers went to the address July 18 to try and make contact with Rhoades. They found the apartment he listed vacant, and the apartment manager did not know who he was.

Rhoades’ whereabouts are unknown.

Rhoades was convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct July 6, 2007. He’s required to register as a predatory offender until Aug. 20, 2017.

He is not classified as a Level III predatory offender—the highest risk level for those required to register as predatory offenders.

Rhoades’ exact risk level is not public information, according to the BCA. About three-quarters of registered predatory offenders in the state do not have a risk level.

While the community has just one Level III offender, 25-year-old Kenneth Edward Dean, it had a total of 47 registered predatory offenders as of August.

The lower-level offenders receive less oversight. The BCA typically sends annual compliance letters to these offenders verifying that they’re at the address they claim. If the offenders don’t respond, BCA notifies local law enforcement. Officers then go to the address to check in on the person.

For a more-detailed look at how a predatory offender can go missing, check out Patch’s in-depth story on the issue.

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