Lawrenceburg man charged with violating sex offender registry law

A Lawrenceburg man was taken into custody by law enforcement officers on Wednesday on charges that he violated the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry guidelines.

Reports filed through the Lawrenceburg Police Department show that officers were asked to look into the status of forty-nine year old Donald Clayton Long by the officer who oversees the department’s registry of sex offenders.

Officers report that they first attempted to contact Long via the cell phone number he had provided to local authorities when last he registered. They discovered, however, that the number he had listed had either been changed or disconnected.

Officers then went to Long’s listed address only to find that “the house was abandoned and empty.” Officers spoke with neighbors who were able to provide them with a possible place of residence. They made their way to a Carrell Avenue address where they initially made contact with another man. He told them that Long was inside the home, then sent him outside to speak with them. He told them that Long had been residing at the address for around two months.

Officers questioned Long about why he had failed to register, as state law requires, during the month of June. He reportedly replied that he “must have forgotten.” They asked why he failed to notify the department, as required, about a change in his address and contact number. Officers noted that he “did not reply.”

Long was placed under arrest and transported to the Lawrence County Detention Center where he was booked under a charge of violation of the sex offender registry law. He will be required to answer the charge in General Sessions Court on August 4, 2016.