MADISON – A local sex offender has been charged once again with failing to register and retail theft months after allegedly committing the same offenses in a prior case.
Esmond L. Sanford, 51, listed as homeless out of Madison, Ill., was charged on March 26, 2026 with one count each of unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (a Class 3 felony), his second or subsequent offense of retail theft under $300 (a Class 4 felony), and criminal trespass to real property (a Class B misdemeanor).
On March 25, 2026, Sanford allegedly failed to register in person on a weekly basis with the chief of the Madison Police Department, as legally required as a sex offender with no fixed address.
On the same date, Sanford is accused of unlawfully entering the Family Dollar store in Madison and stealing laundry detergent pods and body soap valued at under $300. He was previously convicted of retail theft at the same location on Feb. 2, 2026.
This comes nearly five months after Sanford was previously charged by the Granite City Police with violating the Sex Offender Registration Act and the Madison Police with retail theft from the same Family Dollar location.
The Illinois State Police Offender Registry lists Sanford as a “non-compliant” sexual predator and lifetime registrant who last registered on Nov. 21, 2025.
The ISP registry shows Sanford had previously been convicted of criminal sexual assault in 1997 and aggravated criminal sexual abuse/bodily harm in 2005, both in Madison County. At the time of these 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.
The Madison Police Department presented the latest case against Sanford, who was ordered remanded to jail for his initial court appearance in this case.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
