Press Release: Alleged sex offenders verified to register through Operation Safe

On January 30, 2025, Detectives with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division conducted a sex offender address verification compliance operation, dubbed Operation Safe. The North Carolina General Assembly recognized that sex offenders often pose a high risk if engaging in sex offenses even after being released from incarceration or commitment and that protection of the public from sex offenders is of paramount governmental interest. The General Assembly also recognized that person who commit certain other types of offenses against minors, such as kidnapping, pose significant and unacceptable threats to the public safety and welfare of the children on the State of North Carolina, and protection of those children is of great Governmental interest. Starting in 1995, North Carolina requires any person who is a convicted sex offender who lives within the agency’s jurisdiction, to registered with the Sheriff. Davidson County has 515 people registered in the sex offender registry. This information can be found at the North Carolina Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry at sexoffender.ncsbi.gov.

As a result of the operation where more than 75 registered sex offenders were checked to verify registry information as required by North Carolina law, eight individuals were found in violation of their North Carolina Registry requirements. The following people were charged with felony criminal charges:

1. Flem Junior Crum – was charged with Felony failure to report a change of address.

2. Anthony Xavier Bowser – was charged with Felony failure to report a change of address.

3. Tiak Tai – was charged with Felony failure to register.

4. Jimmy Franklin Swicegood – was charged with Felony failure to register online identifiers.

5. Derick Scott Moore – was charged with Felony failure to register.

6. Brenda Freeman - was charged with Felony failure to register.

7. Ethan Jeremiah Sheppard - was charged with Felony failure to register.

8. Nickolas Andrew Santiago - was charged with Felony failure to report a change of address.