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Sheffield Lake residents believe convicted sex offender wasn't tracked to Lorain County

Residents believe sex offender wasn't tracked
Posted at 11:40 PM, Feb 24, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-25 08:54:41-05

Some Sheffield Lake residents believe a convicted sex offender wasn't properly being accounted for when he moved from Cleveland to their Lorain County neighborhood.

Police and Lorain County Court records report 40 year old Dennis Wayne Snodgrass has been charged with rape and gross sexual imposition for allegedly assaulting a 14 year old girl in that Sheffield Lake neighborhood.

Resident Stacy Karkoff told News 5 she and others on her street didn't know Snodgrass was a convicted sex offender, because he wasn't listed on the Lorain County sex offender registry when he moved in.

As a result, the Lorain County Sheriff's department has also charged Snodgrass with not reporting that he moved from Cleveland to Sheffield Lake.

Karkoff believes Cuyahoga County should have kept better track of Snodgrass, which she believes could have prevented the current case against him.

"When we found out, we were stunned," said Karkoff.  "Yes I'm fearful, my daughter had spent the night there."

"Cuyahoga County, step-up your game, start keeping track of these guys. Little children are being harmed, and it's not even just children, it's teenagers."

News 5 spoke with Dennis Snodgrass, who maintained his innocence in the rape case against him.

Snodgrass said his parole officer told him he could maintain a second address at his mother home in Cleveland, and fulfill his obligation in reporting his current address as a registered sex offender.

News 5 contacted the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department about keep tabs on the whereabouts of Dennis Snodgrass, but we're still waiting for a response.