By Sonny Turner
sonny@athensnews-courier.com
July 08, 2008 10:01 pm
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A convicted sex offender who police say has been living near Athens Bible School for three years was arrested after he took his wife and child to the Lions Club Kiddie Carnival.
Robert Lee Cook, 43, of 408 Hoffman St., Athens, was arrested Monday after he attended the Athens Lions Club Kiddie Carnival Saturday night across from Athens Middle School.
Athens Police Capt. Marty Bruce said Cook is charged with two counts of violating the Community Notification Act.
Cook was being held without bond Tuesday in the Limestone County Jail.
He was convicted in 1996 of second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy for abusing a female relative, said Bruce, who did not know the girl’s age when the crime occurred.
A man at the carnival identified Cook as a convicted sex offender and told a member of the Lions Club, who telephoned police.
“The man who reported him said he had seen his picture on a Web site and recognized him,” Bruce said.
Officers responded and determined Cook had been living off Hoffman Street for three years and never registered with the Police Department.
Cook is charged with failing to register as a convicted sex offender and with being a sex offender living within 2,000 feet of a school.
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