Hernando County deputies searching for sex predator

BROOSKVILLE (FOX 13) - The hunt is on for Larry Williams, a convicted sexual predator out of Hernando county. FOX13 has learned Williams cut off his ankle monitor and hasn't been seen since this past weekend.

In a video message, Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis warned his community to keep a close eye out for Williams.

“This person really needs to be found quickly before he does any harm to himself or to anybody else,” said Nienhuis. “We don't know his whereabouts so we're asking for the public's help.”

Sheriff's officials explain Williams somehow cut off his ankle monitor near Mondon Hill Road in Brooksville on Saturday morning. They say he then ditched the monitor in a wooded area where deputies eventually found it. Officials believe he took off in a 1996 blue GMC Yukon.

Williams was not on house arrest, but conditions of his probation may have required him to wear the monitor.
According to the state's sexual offender website, Williams was convicted in 1999 and 2011 of molesting children under the age of twelve.

“He could have thought that there was a warrant for his arrest regarding another matter, and the detective thinks maybe he got scared and bolted,” said HCSO public information manager Denise Moloney.

When caught, Moloney says Williams will be going to jail. The sheriff’s office encourages anyone with information to call Detective Breedlove at 352-797-3716 or Crime Stoppers at 866-900-TIPS(8477). A reward of $1,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.