GRANITE CITY – A local sex offender remains in custody after reportedly violating the Sex Offender Registration Act and committing multiple retail thefts in the area.
Esmond L. Sanford, 51, listed as homeless out of Granite City, was charged on Nov. 5, 2025 with one count each of failure to register (a Class 3 felony) and his second or subsequent offense of retail theft under $300 (a Class 4 felony).
On Nov. 4, 2025, Sanford allegedly failed to report weekly and in person to the chief of the Granite City Police Department as legally required for sex offenders with no fixed address under the Sex Offender Registration Act.
According to the Illinois State Police (ISP) Sex Offender Registry, Sanford is a non-compliant sexual predator and lifetime registrant who last registered on June 4, 2025.
Sanford had previously been convicted of criminal sexual assault in 1997 and aggravated criminal sexual abuse/bodily harm in 2005, both in Madison County. The ISP registry shows that at the time of the offenses, the victim in the first case was 16 years old while Sanford was 21, and the victim in the second case was 18 while Sanford was 29.
Sanford was additionally accused of stealing under $300 worth of personal care items from a Dollar Tree store in Granite City on the same date, after previously being convicted of armed robbery in a prior Madison County case from 2014.
In another case filed on Nov. 6, 2025, Sanford was charged with a Class 2 felony count of burglary and his second or subsequent offense of retail theft under $300, a Class 4 felony. He was accused in that case of knowingly entering a Family Dollar store in Madison, Ill. without authority and stealing under $300 worth of personal care items on Sept. 28, 2025.
The Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office filed petitions to deny Sanford’s pretrial release from custody in both of these cases. Both petitions state Sanford is “a sex offender with a history of violent, armed offenses.”
“He has repeatedly failed to register and misrepresented his moving status, allowing him to evade reporting requirements,” the petitions state. “He is a flight risk.”
The Granite City Police Department presented the registration failure case against Sanford, while the Madison Police Department presented the second case of retail theft. Sanford currently remains in custody at the Madison County Jail.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
