Find Sex Offenders in Charles County
Charles County sex offender records are handled by the Sheriff's Office Special Victims Unit in Waldorf. You can search the Maryland registry at dpscs.maryland.gov or use the county's own OffenderWatch tool at sheriffalerts.com/md/charles to find registered sex offenders near any address in Charles County. The SVU managed between 194 and 204 registered sex offenders in 2024.
Charles County Sex Offender Overview
Charles County Special Victims Unit
The Charles County Sheriff's Office runs its sex offender registration through the Special Victims Unit, which sits within the Criminal Investigations Division. The SVU supervisor is Sgt. Charles Garner, reachable at 301-609-6481 or by email at svu@ccso.us. The Persons Crimes Commander is Lt. Anthony Celia. The CID and sex offender registration office are both located at District 3 in Waldorf, 3670 Leonardtown Road, Waldorf, MD 20603. The main phone is 301-609-6400, and the direct sex offender registry line is 301-609-6503.
In 2024, the SVU was assigned 294 total cases. Of those, 61 were closed during the year and 83 were closed with arrests. The unit also received 384 cyber tips forwarded from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. These tips drive investigations into online exploitation of minors and other sex crimes in Charles County. The SVU handles a wide range of cases: physical and sexual child abuse, child deaths, vulnerable adult abuse, rape, sexual assaults, sex offender registry violations, and NCMEC-forwarded cyber tips.
The Sheriff's Office website at ccso.us has information about the SVU, registration procedures, and how to contact the CID. The site also links to OffenderWatch for neighborhood-level sex offender searches.
One notable part of the SVU is the comfort K9 program. Liberty, a Golden Retriever trained at Applejack K9 Academy in Charlotte Hall, works with Det. Nina Garner during forensic interviews with child victims. Research shows that children disclose abuse at a rate of 34% when interviewed alone. When a trained comfort dog is present, that disclosure rate climbs above 80%. This makes Liberty a meaningful tool in cases involving child sex abuse in Charles County.
Note: Sex offender registration for Charles County is handled at the District 3 Waldorf location, not at La Plata or Bryans Road stations.
Search Charles County Sex Offenders
Charles County uses OffenderWatch, a platform run on the iCrimeWatch network, to manage its local sex offender registry. You can search it directly at sheriffalerts.com/md/charles. Enter any address and pick a search radius from 0.25 to 2 miles to see registered sex offenders in that area. Results show the offender's photo, current address, tier level, and conviction information. Registration is free. The system also lets you sign up for email alerts when a registered sex offender moves into your chosen area.
The statewide Maryland registry at dpscs.maryland.gov covers all 24 Maryland counties and Baltimore City. You can search by name, ZIP code, address, or county. The statewide tool allows radius searches up to five miles, compared to the two-mile cap on the Charles County OffenderWatch portal. Both tools pull from the same underlying database maintained by DPSCS.
For court records tied to sex offense cases in Charles County, the Maryland Judiciary Case Search gives you free access to case summaries, docket entries, and dispositions from the Circuit and District Courts. Search by name or case number. This is separate from the registry but useful when you need details about the specific charges and outcomes in a case.
The Sheriff's Office site above at ccso.us gives you direct access to SVU contacts, OffenderWatch links, and MPIA information for Charles County sex offender records.
Note: The National Sex Offender Public Website searches all 50 state registries at once and is useful when checking if someone has registrations in states other than Maryland.
How Charles County Monitors Sex Offenders
Compliance monitoring in Charles County is active and ongoing. The SVU conducts unannounced checks at registrants' homes and places of work. Photographs are updated every six months at minimum, and a new photo is taken immediately if the offender's appearance has changed. Real-time updates go directly to the Maryland statewide registry so the online profile always reflects current information.
Tier I and Tier II offenders must check in with the SVU every six months. Tier III offenders check in quarterly, every three months. These in-person verification appointments are required under state law. Missing one triggers a non-compliance investigation by the SVU. Under CP 11-721, a first failure-to-register offense is a misdemeanor with up to three years in jail and a $5,000 fine. A repeat offense is a felony carrying up to five years and a $10,000 fine.
Any change to a registrant's address, job, vehicle, phone, email, or legal name must be reported to the Charles County Sheriff's Office within three days. This applies to all tiers. The SVU coordinates with the DPSCS Sex Offender Registry Unit in Pikesville to keep the statewide database current across all agencies.
The statewide registry above at dpscs.maryland.gov is where Charles County registrant data is publicly available, updated in real time as the SVU processes changes.
Charles County Sheriff Station Locations
The Charles County Sheriff's Office operates three district stations. For sex offender registration and SVU matters, you need District 3 in Waldorf. The other stations handle general law enforcement and non-emergency services for their areas but do not process registration.
District 1 in La Plata is at 6855 Crain Highway, La Plata, MD 20646, phone 301-932-2222, open 24 hours. District 2 in Bryans Road is at 3099 Marshall Hall Road, Bryans Road, MD 20616, phone 301-743-2222, open Monday through Thursday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Friday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. District 3 in Waldorf, which houses CID and sex offender registration, is at 3670 Leonardtown Road, Waldorf, MD 20603, phone 301-932-7777, open 24 hours. This is the location you go to for registration, SVU contacts, and sex offender related records.
Public records requests for the Sheriff's Office go through the county MPIA process at charlescountymd.gov. Standard court copies run $0.50 per page. Certified copies are $5.00 plus copy fees. Audio recordings of hearings cost $25.00 per hearing date at the Circuit Court.
Charles County Court Records
Sex offense cases in Charles County run through two courts. The Circuit Court for Charles County is at 200 Charles Street, La Plata, MD 20646. The main phone is 301-932-3201, and the criminal clerk line is 301-932-3220. The court is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. This is where felony sex offense trials and serious cases are heard. Court files are public records accessible through the clerk or the Maryland Judiciary Case Search online.
The District Court for Charles County sits at 11 Washington Avenue, La Plata, MD 20646, phone 301-934-5110, same weekday hours. District Court handles misdemeanor sex offenses and lower-level violations including failure-to-register cases in some instances. The Maryland Judiciary Case Search lets you access records from both courts at no cost from any device. Search by name or case number to get case history, charges, and dispositions for any Charles County sex offense case.
Charles County Victim Services
The Center for Abused Persons serves Charles County residents affected by domestic violence and sexual assault. Their crisis hotline runs 24 hours at 301-645-3336. A text hotline is also available during limited hours. The main office is at 2670 Crain Highway, Suite 303, Waldorf, MD 20601. An additional location is at 10665 Stanhaven Place, #103, White Plains, MD 20685. Admin lines are 301-645-8994 and 301-843-1110. The center's website is at centerforabusedpersonscharlescounty.org.
Services at the Center for Abused Persons include 24-hour crisis support, individual counseling, victim advocacy, support groups, an abuse intervention program, community education, court accompaniment, medical accompaniment across the tri-county area, case management, emergency shelter, and interpretation services. These resources are free and confidential. You do not need to file a police report to use them.
The SVU also works directly with victim services during investigations. The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program is available 24 hours a day through the county's medical partners. SANE nurses conduct forensic exams and document injuries in a way that supports prosecution while giving the victim immediate medical care.
Cities in Charles County
Waldorf is the largest community in Charles County and the only city in the county with its own page in this directory. All sex offender registration for Waldorf residents goes through the Charles County Sheriff's SVU at District 3.
Nearby Counties
These counties border Charles County. Registrants who move across county lines must re-register with the Sheriff's Office in their new county within three days of the move.