Jan. 14—GRAND FORKS — A high-risk, or level III, sex offender is living at 207 S. Fourth St. in Grand Forks, according to the Grand Forks Police Department.
Richard Garrett Staples has been convicted of abusive sexual contact and sexual abuse, according to a GFPD press release issued Tuesday, Jan. 14.
The
state sex offender database
says Staples was convicted of sexual abuse in 2014 for raping an unconscious woman when he was 21 years old. He was convicted of abusive sexual contact in 2017 for raping a 6-year-old girl. He was 25 at the time.
The North Dakota Sex Offender Risk Assessment Committee assigned Staples a risk level of “high” and, as a result, he has a lifetime registration requirement in the state.
The GFPD provides information about those convicted of sex offenses, offenses against children and those who have been adjudicated as sexually dangerous individuals, the release said. This is done through the Offender Tracking and Verification Program (OTVP.)
There are 120 offenders registered through the GFPD who either live, work or attend school within the city of Grand Forks; eight are considered high risk.
High-risk offenders are contacted at least once a month to verify their status, the release said. If they are homeless, they must appear at the police department every three days to keep their information updated.
Information about registered offenders is available by request through the GFPD, though some information — particularly relating to juvenile offenders — is restricted.
Information about offenders convictions, locations and appearance is available through the state’s sex offender registry at
www.sexoffender.nd.gov,
which is located on the North Dakota Attorney General’s website.
Anyone with questions about the OTVP, or information about an offender who has failed to register, is encouraged to contact Cpl. Mike Munkeby at the GFPD’s Education and Outreach Bureau by phone at (701) 787-8083 or email at mmunkeby@grandforksgov.com.