Sex offender believed to be flight risk arrested on suspicion of noncompliance

A convicted sex offender was arrested in Freedom after the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said it learned he was not complying with the terms of his registration.

The Sheriff’s Office also said he had a one-way ticket to Asia leaving later in the evening and may have intended to flee the country.

Deputies went to his home and served a warrant for his arrest. He was booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail.

The Sheriff’s Office said the information it released was accurate, but the family reached out to KION to dispute the story. They said the man and some close friends were planning a two-week trip to Thailand and that he was not trying to flee the country. The family member also told us there was not a warrantf or his arrest and that he is not a sex offender.