Jonathan Douglas Layne - Repeat Sex offender

25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years
according to Sarah Tofte of the Human Rights Watch

A Kanawha County man wanted for failing to update his address as a sex offender was arrested Thursday after West Virginia State Police and U.S. marshals found child pornography in his St. Albans home.

Jonathan Douglas Layne, 49, was convicted in 1989 of sexually abusing a 4-year-old female relative. He served roughly 2 1/2 years in prison, according to the State Police's online sex offender registry.

At a news conference on Friday, Trooper J.J. Kessler said Layne admitted he had a DVD with child pornography on it when investigators served an outstanding warrant at 502 Pine St. in St. Albans. The warrant was issued after Layne moved away from a South Charleston address without providing a new one to the sex offender registry.

After obtaining a search warrant for the residence, officers found "a multitude of sexually explicit material" involving children, Kessler said.

Police found a folder in a closet with hundreds of graphic photos of children printed from a computer, he said. They confiscated DVDs and computer equipment, he said.

"It's a horrible thing to think of," Kessler said. "It's a horrible thing to see."

Police also found small amounts of marijuana in the house, he said.

Although there was no indication that any of the photos involving children had been taken at the house, Kessler urged anyone with additional information to contact the State Police's South Charleston barracks at (304) 558-7777.

"If there are other victims of other crimes like this, they can come forward and have someone on their side," he said.

Tim Goode, chief deputy U.S. marshal for West Virginia's southern district, said his office was involved in the search and arrest because the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act allows U.S. marshals to search for missing sex offenders who may have crossed state lines.

The act, named after the son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, was signed into law by President Bush in 2006.

Layne was being held at South Central Regional Jail on Friday.