Sex offender arrested, charged
Sarah Day — Staff WriterELMORE - A level three sex offender who moved into Faribault County a week and a half ago has been arrested and charged.
Ronald John Madsen, 49, was the subject of a public meeting Wednesday. Since he registered as homeless - living in the Woods Lake Park area of rural Elmore - he was required to report to the Faribault County Sheriff's Office weekly. He was supposed to check in on Thursday, and failed to do so.
"So, as I said in our level three meeting, there would be a warrant for his arrest and I had a warrant for Friday," said Chief Deputy Scott Adams. "There's always a concern if you can't locate the people who are supposed to be checking in with you - hence why we issued a warrant for him right away on Friday."
Along with the warrant, Madsen was charged with a felony count of sex offender registration violation, in which the offender knowingly violates registration requirements or intentionally provides false information.
Madsen was convicted in 2005 of using a minor in a sexual performance in Martin County, in which he engaged in sexual contact with teenage males, provided alcohol and marijuana to them and was known to the victims. Madsen received a probationary sentence, later revoked, and he then served 15 months in prison.
He was convicted of possession of child pornography in 2006, receiving a probationary sentence. His probation was revoked and he served a 13-month sentence.
In 2007, he was released as a level three offender, but was on supervised release. He had contact with vulnerable adults, a violation of his release, and was sent back to prison.
Madsen was re-released in December 2007 and has not had any more infractions. Madsen has no conditions to follow for his release, except that he must register as a level three sex offender for the rest of his life.
Law enforcement was looking for Madsen through the weekend when he called Adams around 8 a.m. Monday.
"He asked about his warrant and I verified there was a warrant for his arrest," Adams said. "I told him it was in his best interest to turn himself in either in our office or in the metro office."
Madsen re-registered with a metro city on Friday morning.
Adams arrested Madsen close to 2 p.m. Monday when Madsen turned himself in and made his first appearance in court about an hour later. He is being held in the Faribault County Jail.
Madsen faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $10,000 fine. According to Minnesota law, if he is found guilty, he also will face a 10-year conditional release after serving whatever sentence the judge orders because he is a level three offender.
