Burlington woman arrested, accused of failing sex offender registration update

A Burlington woman was jailed in Alamance County after investigators said she failed to keep her sex-offender registration current, a lapse that brought a new felony charge and a $25,000 secured bond.

Julia Anna Farias, 41, was arrested May 13 in Durham after an investigation by the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office Sex Offender Registration Unit. She was transported to the Alamance County Detention Center and was being held there on one count of felony failure to notify a change of address.

The case centers on a requirement that reaches beyond a simple paperwork update. North Carolina law requires sex-offender registrants to notify the last registering sheriff when they change addresses. If a registrant cannot be found at the registered address and has failed to report the move, that person can face penalties under the state sex-offender law. The rule is designed to keep law enforcement aware of where registrants live, work and move so officers can respond quickly when someone stops complying.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation maintains the state Sex Offender Registry, and the public can search it online. Victims can also use NC VINE, also known as VINElink, and NC SAVAN for status notifications tied to offenders and custody changes.

Alamance County Sheriff Terry S. Johnson has led the office since 2002, overseeing an agency that says it serves more than 170,000 residents across 435 square miles. In a county that stretches from Burlington and Graham to smaller communities across the rural edges of the jurisdiction, registration checks can lead investigators well beyond the county seat.

The Farias arrest also fits a pattern of enforcement by the sheriff’s office. In July 2023, registry-compliance investigators arrested Jonathan Paul Lambert II after they said he had been staying with his girlfriend for about three weeks without notifying authorities. He was charged with felony failure to register and held on a $40,000 secured bond.

Additional information about the Farias case can be directed to Detective S.D. Richardson at 336-570-6300.