The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service, is requesting the public’s help in an effort to locate a non-compliant sex offender believed to be in the area.
Dale Hanson, 61, has a warrant out for his arrest for failing to register as a sex offender. Hanson was arrested in 1994 for sexual assault and deviate sexual conduct for his sexual contact with two boys from October 1990 until June 1992. The boys were 4 years old when the abuse began, the sheriff’s office reported.
Hanson was sentenced to 20 years in the Montana State Prison, with 10 years suspended. He was released in July of 2005, but has not registered as a sex offender with any sheriff’s office since his release. Investigators say Hanson told acquaintances that he refuses to register “because he feels registering will make him admit guilt,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Chuck Curry said Hanson was last seen in Flathead County in September 2009, but there is concern that his family, which lives in the Flathead, know of his whereabouts but are not helping law enforcement find him.
Anyone with information on Hanson’s location can call the sheriff’s office at 406-758-5585.