A registered sex offender was arrested on a felony warrant Friday for allegedly not disclosing a social media account he had for over a year to Hot Springs police as required by law.
DeAngelo Michael Lover, 27, who lists an Autumn Street address, was taken into custody around 3 p.m. and charged with failure to comply with sex offender registration and reporting requirements, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Lover, who was previously convicted of sexual abuse of a minor and is classified as a Level 2 sex offender with a moderate risk of reoffending, was later released on $3,500 bond and is set to appear May 1 in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Nov. 1, 2017, Lover appeared at the police department to fulfill his six-month registration verification requirement. While reviewing the paperwork, Detective Kenny May asked Lover if he had any social media accounts and Lover reportedly said he did not.
May told him it was legal for registered sex offenders to have social media accounts, but it was a felony not to disclose them. Lover again denied having any social media accounts but indicated he planned on creating some in the future since it was legal to do so.
Later that same day, May reportedly located a Facebook profile under the name "DeAngelo Stone," and recognized the person in the profile picture as Lover. He noted activity on the Facebook page dating back to Jan. 20, 2017, and as recently as Oct. 22, 2017.
May called Lover the next day and asked him twice if he had set up any social media accounts, such as Facebook, and Lover again denied it. May then confronted him with the profile he had discovered and Lover allegedly admitted to having the profile and being active on it.
Lover said he failed to disclose it when asked before because he thought it was illegal for him to have. May noted in the affidavit he has previously completed verification paperwork for Lover on March 28, April 28, July 14 and Nov. 1 last year and each time he had asked if Lover had any social media accounts and each time he reportedly denied it.
Local on 04/24/2018