Ernest Lavern Bolin - Repeat Sex Offender hides in bathroom

Lexington deputies arrested a 46-year-old man they say is a sex offender who failed to register after a second offense.

Investigators arrested 46-year-old Ernest Lavern Bolin, who does not have an address, at about 1:10 Sunday afternoon.

Officers arrested Bolin at motel on Augusta Road near West Columbia on an arrest warrant for second-offense failure to register as a convicted sex offender.

Bolin was being held on Tuesday at the Lexington County jail on a $10,000 bond.

Under South Carolina law, Bolin was required to register with the Sheriff's Department as a convicted sex offender, because deputies say he has lived at various locations in Lexington County.

Bolin was convicted on September 23, 1991 of kidnapping, Sheriff James Metts said. Bolin also was convicted on November 7, 2001 of a first offense of failure to register as a convicted sex offender, according to the sheriff.

Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Bolin on October 22, 2007 after Bolin failed to register as a convicted sex offender with the Sheriff's Department, Metts said.

On a tip, investigators went to the motel where they say Bolin was hiding, to find him hiding in a bathroom at a room at the motel.

Investigators arrested Bolin without incident at the motel, Metts said.

Deputies say Bolin provided officers with a fake name when he was asked to identify himself.