Raymond Eugene Jenkins - Repeat Sex Offender

Jenkins is not allowed to be around children, not even his own — of which he has 12 — under his parole

"he was living with children"

BARSTOW — A local sex offender recently arrested could face charges of bigamy and false imprisonment.

Raymond Eugene Jenkins, 46, was arrested last Saturday, Dec. 22, for failing to register as a sex offender living in Lenwood. Now, Deputy Eugene Barela is putting together a case to could add having multiple wives, keeping one of them against her will, further parole violations and writing a bad check to charges pending against Jenkins.

Barela said the investigation is complicated, involving several agencies in several states, but hopes to have a strong case to present to the district attorney’s office.

Previously, Jenkins pleaded guilty to a sexual battery crime in Los Angeles County after being charged with committing a lewd sex act with a child. Under the terms of his probation for the previous offense, Jenkins must register as a sex offender when he moves. He had registered as a transient in both Barstow and Victorville but had not registered his new residence on Western Avenue, Sgt. Eric Mello said.

“He’s out of compliance because he is lying about his residence,” Mello said.

Jenkins is not allowed to be around children, not even his own — of which he has 12 — under his parole, Barela said.

Barela learned from one of Jenkins’ wives, who claimed she was kept hostage by Jenkins, that he had been living in Lenwood for about two months without registering. Thus far, Barela knows of two wives, both married to Jenkins in Las Vegas three years apart, but he is working with Clark County to determine if there are more wives on file. His 12 children are with women from Barstow, Apple Valley, Victorville, Los Angeles and as far away as Memphis. Jenkins also wrote his landlord a bad check for $5,000 for which he could face forgery charges.

Following the call, Barela went to the residence in Lenwood and found proof that Jenkins had been living there and that he was living with children. Barela began looking for Jenkins in the Lenwood area and found one of his wives with one of Jenkins’ children at the Discount Lenwood Market on West Main Street. She said she fled Jenkins the day before when he went to Victorville.

“She said it was her chance to get away, and she took off with his baby,” Barela said.

Later that day, Deputy Jacob Gault made a traffic stop on a vehicle identified as one of Jenkins’ and found Jenkins, with another wife and two small children inside the vehicle. He was arrested, booked and is currently held in state prison for his registration violation. In the meantime, Barela is sorting out Jenkins’ other crimes.

Saturday’s incident is not the first trouble Jenkins has gotten into in Barstow. In 2005, Sgt. Mark Franey of the Barstow Police Department arrested Jenkins for failing to register as a sex offender in Barstow and for child endangerment after tracking a kidnapping case out of Oklahoma to a motel in Barstow where Jenkins was staying. Jenkins pleaded no contest to the registration violation and was sentenced to one year, four months in state prison.

25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years

....Sarah Tofte