Authorities search for sex offender who disappeared after drug bust

McHenry County authorities are searching for a convicted sex offender accused of defying his registration requirements by refusing authorities' order he find a new home.

Jermaine L. Pugh, 21, whose last known address was near Crystal Lake, was charged with violating the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act in the wake of a drug bust at the home where he had been living.

The McHenry County Sheriff's Office announced the charge Monday, four days after deputies discovered about a pound of marijuana and drug paraphernalia at his former home in the 3600 block of Riverside Drive.

Another resident, Andrew G. McGrath, 47, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

After the bust, sheriff's Lt. Andrew Zinke said, Pugh's probation officer told him to find a new home and register the new address with the sheriff's department. "He has not come back (to register) or made any contact since," Zinke said.

McGrath, who is free after posting $1,000 bond, was arrested in April on six drug and weapons charges after a raid on the same house, which turned up marijuana and firearms, police said.