Sex offender arrested on Megan's Law violation in Matamoras

MILFORD — Pike County District Attorney Ray Tonkin announced Wednesday that detectives from the Pike County District Attorney’s Office arrested a sexual offender from New York State for failing to register pursuant to the Pennsylvania version of Megan’s Law. On Apr. 8, detectives arrested Frederick Joseph Decker, Jr., age 32, of 1033 Pennsylvania Avenue, Matamoras, for failing to register his residence address and his place of employment with the Pennsylvania State Police. Decker’s violation of Megan’s Law was brought to the attention of the Delaware Valley School Police who in turn notified detectives at the District Attorney’s Office. The investigation revealed that Decker was a convicted sexual offender in the State of New York and was a lifetime registrant on the New York State Sexual Offender Registry, but he had not registered his address in several years. Detectives determined that Decker had an address in Dingmans Ferry and was working at a local restaurant. During the investigation Decker moved to the residence at 1033 Pennsylvania Avenue. He was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Jay R. Rose and placed in the Pike County Correctional Facility in lieu of $25,000 bail. If released on bail, Decker will have to register his address and any place of employment or school attendance with the Pennsylvania State Police. Decker will have a preliminary hearing before Judge Rose next week. Tonkin was happy that a concerned citizen brought this to the attention of law enforcement. Tonkin said “Law enforcement is a partner with the community and we need community involvement to help keep our community safe. Without this tip, Decker could have gone unnoticed for a long time, and the community would not have access to his registration on the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law website so they could take the appropriate steps to keep their children safe.” Tonkin also thanked the Pennsylvania State Police for their assistance in this investigation. To learn about the registered sex offenders in Pike County people can access the list on the internet at http://www.pameganslaw.state.pa.us/. Anyone with any information regarding any person that may be required to register under Megan’s Law who lives or works in Pike County is urged to call the Pike County District Attorney’s Office at 570-296-3482, or the Pennsylvania State Police at 570-226-5718.