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Facebook account lands Seminole County sex offender back behind bars

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A 52-year-old sex offender was caught with an unregistered Facebook account when he was suggested as a potential “friend” to a Seminole County Sheriff’s Office employee.

Edward Williamson went before a Seminole County judge Wednesday after he was caught in violation of state rules requiring sex offenders to register any email addresses or social media accounts.

He was convicted 26 years ago on a charge of lewd acts with a minor.

Williamson’s mother, Wanda Bivens, said her son hasn’t had any trouble with the law since his 1989 arrest.

His recent arrest came as a complete shock.

“Oh, I think it’s awful, I think it’s terrible,” Bivens said. “He has done everything right and I’m sure he didn’t realize he wasn’t supposed to be on Facebook or not register.”

Williamson’s last registration was in May, and at that time he told authorities he did not have an email address or Facebook account.

Williamson was booked into the Seminole County Jail on two counts of failure to report an email address or instant messenger name as a sex offender and failure to comply with sex offender registration law.