CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER ARRESTED FOR VIOLATING REGISTRY LAWS

Damon Weston Bivens

Murphy, NC— Damon Weston Bivens, a 17 year old Andrews North Carolina man was arrested by Deputies of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office for violating provisions of the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry Statutes, and for violating conditions and terms of a Domestic Violence Protective Order.

On February 17^th, 2011 the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit became aware that Damon Bivens, a registered sex offender residing in Cherokee County North Carolina had created an account on the social networking site Facebook.com. Bivens, who was registered as a result of a 2010 conviction for sexual battery was using the Facebook.com account to violate the terms and conditions of a Domestic Violence Protective Order issued by 30^th Judicial District in August of 2010. During the investigation information was discovered that Bivens had been on the premises of The Zone, a local teen establishment.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office is a member of the North Carolina Internet Crimes Against Children (NCICAC) Task Force. The ICAC Task Force is comprised of federal, state, and local enforcement agents. The purpose of the ICAC task force is to investigate complaints of child exploitation. For more information on the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office visit http://www.cherokeecounty-nc.gov/departments/ccso/, or follow on www.ccsonc.blogspot.com.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Bivens is currently confined in the Cherokee County Detention Facility on a $20,000.00 bond. Bivens is scheduled to appear in Cherokee County District Court on February 23, 2011.