CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A registered sex offender who was reportedly seen on the grounds of a Chesapeake school was arrested Thursday, according to Virginia State Police.
Earley's wife, who was a PTA president, has also stepped down from her role, according to the Virginia PTA.
State police say that Ryan Earley was arrested for violating a Virginia code prohibiting a convicted sex offender from entering school property.
The charges came from an investigation into complaints that Earley was at a Chesapeake Public Schools facility earlier this month.
Spokesperson for Chesapeake Public Schools Chris Vail said the school is committed to monitoring visitors during the school day through a screening system called Raptor, that checks visitors' government-issued IDs against the sex offender registry. Thursday he explained that after-hours the Raptor system is not typically used because of the volume of visitors and the presence of parents at events, but "administrators and school staff are present to monitor the event and alert authorities should a known sex offender be on school grounds."
News 3 first reported this story on Wednesday after talking with parents at the Chesapeake school.
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Registered sex offender accused of entering school after hours
Earley's wife had been the president of Greenbrier Intermediate School PTA and the Greenbrier Primary School PTA.
News 3 reached out to Earley's wife on Thursday, but she declined to comment.
Virginia State Police shared this statement with us about Earley's arrest Thursday.
The Virginia State Police Sex Offender Investigative Unit has arrested Ryan T. Earley, 38, of Chesapeake, Va., for violating Code of Virginia 18.2-370.5, which prohibits a convicted sex offender from entering upon school property. The charge stems from an investigation initiated last week after receiving state police a complaint about Earley being present at a Chesapeake Public Schools facility earlier this month. He was taken into custody without incident Thursday afternoon (Sept. 21, 2023) and is being held without bond at the Chesapeake Correctional Center. The investigation remains ongoing.
A spokesperson for the Commonwealth's Attorney clarified to News 3 that a violation under this section of the Virginia Code is a class 6 felony, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $2,500. However, under this section of the code, a sex offender can get permission from the courts to attend school events.
Earley's bond hearing is set for Monday, September 25.
