ATLANTA - Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Sheriff Ezell Brown to the Sexual Offender Registration Review Board Oct. 24 at the state Capitol. 

House Bill 1059, passed during the 2006 legislative session, required SORRB to determine the likelihood of whether a sexual offender will engage in another crime against a victim who is a minor or another dangerous sexual offense. The Board determines if the sex offender will be classified as a Level One Offender, Level Two Offender or a Sexual Dangerous Predator.

Before being elected as sheriff of Newton County, Ezell Brown’s last assignment was charged by his predecessor to oversee and manage the Sex Offender Registry Unit in Newton County. Upon accepting the duties and responsibilities of this program, Newton County, as well as many other counties, did not have a mapping system to determine where the sex offenders were residing, working or attending an institution of higher learning.

Brown initiated the program to track the whereabouts of sex offenders with only a pin map. Brown and Ernie Smith with GIS Services of Newton County developed our first 36x36 pin map and later discovered the information could be integrated into a web-based system to publish online for the community. Brown and Smith traveled throughout the state to assist other agencies with the implementation of the mapping system with great success.

Brown said, “When I began working with the sex offender program at the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, there were only 65 sex offenders residing within the county. Today, we have over 300 sex offenders residing in our county. I am grateful for Gov. Kemp to have appointed me to the Sex Offender Registry Review Board. I hope that the past years of knowledge and experience I have gained while managing the Sex Offender Registry Unit will offer a benefit to the Board, Newton County and the State of Georgia.”

Brown played a pivotal role in some of the landmark sex offender cases in Georgia. He was subpoenaed to testify in federal court on one of the most challenging cases in reference to sex offenders not being able to reside within 1,000 feet of a bus stop.