Hardee County investigators are asking the public to help track down Lee Williams, who is wanted on felony warrants accusing him of failing to properly register as a sexual offender and failing to report a change of address as required under state law. The case was featured in this week's Warrant Wednesday bulletin, a recurring social media campaign the sheriff's office uses to publicize outstanding warrants and solicit anonymous tips.
According to the Hardee County Sheriff's Office, Williams faces two separate warrants tied to registry noncompliance. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff's office directly at 863-773-4144, or reach out through Heartland Crime Stoppers at 888-400-8477. Tipsters may also use the P3 Tips smartphone app, a downloadable platform that lets people submit information without ever identifying themselves.
Why Missing a Registration Deadline Becomes a Felony
The charges Williams faces are not administrative slaps on the wrist. Under Florida Statute § 943.0435, failing to report an address change or failing to properly register as a sexual offender is classified as a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in state prison, five years of probation, and up to $5,000 in fines, according to legal guidance cited by Kevin Kulik Law. Florida law requires registered sexual offenders to report any change in permanent, temporary, or transient residence in person to the local sheriff's office or a Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles driver license office within 48 hours of moving, per the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Beyond the 48-hour rule, offenders are held to a recurring compliance schedule. State registration guidelines require sexual offenders to check in and re-register in person at their local sheriff's office twice per year, while individuals designated as sexual predators must report in person four times annually, per the same FDLE guidance. Registration in Florida is generally a lifelong obligation; non-predator offenders may petition a circuit court for removal only after 25 consecutive years of documented compliance, while designated sexual predators have no statutory path off the registry at all, according to legal background from Robert B. Fisher Law.
A Wide, Rural County Complicates the Search
Finding someone who has fallen off the registry radar is a bigger challenge in Hardee County than it might be elsewhere. The county covers 638 square miles of rural Central Florida with an estimated population of 25,300 residents, and more than 60 percent of that population lives in unincorporated agricultural areas, Hoodline has reported. That sprawling, sparsely populated landscape gives deputies a lot of ground to cover when someone stops checking in.
Public cooperation is also shaped by a policy change the sheriff's office made two years ago. The agency disabled public comments across all of its official social media accounts in July 2024 due to moderation demands, meaning residents cannot simply respond to a Facebook post with a tip — they have to call the sheriff's office or go through Heartland Crime Stoppers instead, Hoodline previously reported. That shift has pushed more of the department's community tip-gathering onto Heartland Crime Stoppers, which serves Hardee, Highlands, and Polk counties and offers anonymous tipsters cash rewards of up to $9,500 for information leading to an arrest, felony warrant execution, or contraband seizure, according to Heartland Crime Stoppers.
Tipsters who go through Heartland Crime Stoppers or the P3 Tips smartphone app are assigned a unique identification number and interact with 24/7 operators without ever revealing their name, phone number, or physical location, the organization notes. That anonymity is designed to encourage people who might otherwise stay silent to come forward with what they know.
Part of a Broader Regional Enforcement Push
Warrants for registry violations like the ones against Williams don't happen in isolation. The Hardee County Sheriff's Office regularly participates in multi-agency regional law enforcement operations alongside neighboring agencies, including the Polk County Sheriff's Office and federal task forces, targeting sexual offenders and internet crimes against children. Registered offenders whose victims were under age 16 also face a separate statewide residency restriction barring them from living within 1,000 feet of any school, childcare facility, park, or playground, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement guidelines — a rule that can itself trigger registration violations when offenders move without updating their address.
The Williams case is the latest in a string of Warrant Wednesday bulletins out of Hardee County. Hoodline previously covered a similar push in July when the sheriff's office and Heartland Crime Stoppers sought Hardee's hunt for Samuel Hernandez. A separate individual also named Lee Williams was the subject of an unrelated Wanted Wednesday bulletin out of Texas last month, underscoring that the Hardee County case involves a distinct person facing distinct Florida charges. As of Wednesday, Williams remained at large, and the sheriff's office has not released additional details about the timeline of his alleged noncompliance.
