By JANIE SLAVEN<br>Record Staff Writer
LONDON — A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a Strunk man arrested last month for failing to register as a sex offender.
Andrew Lee Spliethof, 50, is charged with violating the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which re-quires convicted sex offenders to update their registration between states.
A new arrest warrant was also issued along with the federal indictment. Lodged in McCreary County Jail following his August 27 arrest by Detective David Sampson of the local sheriff’s department.
According to Det. Sampson, the sheriff’s office had received an anonymous tip regarding Spliethof, who was living with his wife and two minor children after moving to McCreary County from California in November of 2007.
Det. Sampson accompanied social workers with Department for Community Based Services to the Spliethof home on August 26 as part of their own investigation, which resulted in removal of the children from the home.
“During that visit, he admitted to being a registered sex offender,” Det. Sampson said. “He said he knew he should have registered locally but he was trying to start a new life.”
Based on that information, Det. Sampson was able to obtain an arrest warrant which he served the following day. Spliethof was lodged in the McCreary County Jail under a $7,500 cash bond.
Federal authorities became involved soon after, placing a federal detainer on that bond.
Spliethof was convicted of a Lewd and Lascivious Act with a Minor under the age of 14 on November 28, 1995, in the Superior Court of Shasta County, CA. The conviction required Spliethof to be listed on California’s sex offender registry, though The Record could not find his name on the state’s website. Nor was he listed on Kentucky’s website.
In state proceedings, Spliethof has been represented by public defender Carolyn Clark-Cox. His case was presented to a local grand jury following a September 17 preliminary hearing in which probable cause was determined to continue state prosecution.
Yesterday, the McCreary County Grand Jury returned two indictments against Mr. Spliethof. The first charges him with Failure to Comply with Sex Offender Registration.
The second apparently stems from the CBS investigation, charging Spliethof and his wife — 26-year-old Sarah Spliethof — with first-degree Criminal Abuse. The local indictment alleges that the couple “jointly and/or individually” failed to provide “adequate nourishment” for their six-month-old son.
