Attempt to reach homeowner after fire prompts sex offender registry compliance charge

Daniel E. Johnson, 32, of Gainesville, has been charged with failure to comply with requirements of the Missouri sex offender registry. He is ordered to appear before Associate Judge Raymond Gross at 9 a.m. Feb. 15. 

According to the probable cause statement filed in the case prepared by Ozark County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeffrey Lane, the officer was notified of a structure fire at a home on County Road 806 on Dec. 15. 

“Upon arrival, I identified the residence to be one of the Daniel E. Johnson’s rental properties. Contact was made with Mr. Johnson to notify him that one of his rental properties was on fire. I was made aware that Mr. Johnson had a Facebook account. After searching [for] Mr. Johnson’s personal profile, I located an account,” Lane wrote in the report. 

The following day the officer notified Johnson that he was non-compliant with his sexual registration by having the Facebook page.

Online records show that Johnson was convicted in 2010 of second-degree child molestation involving a 13-year-old victim when he was 20.