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Ex-ADA’s husband arrested

By Mark Harrison
The Times-Journal

Published November 9, 2005

Police have arrested a prospective Fort Payne businessman, who is also the husband of a former special prosecutor, and charged him with felony failure to register as a convicted sex offender in Illinois.

Fort Payne Police Chief David Walker identified the man as Vernon Rogers, 36, but said at some point Rogers had legally changed his name to Jullian Roseony, even though the change shouldn’t have been permitted because Rogers is a convicted felon. Rogers was arrested around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday on an Illinois fugitive warrant issued earlier the same day.

Rogers was being held in the DeKalb County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Under Alabama law, bond is allowed and typically set for those arrested on out-of-state charges and is referenced as a “fugitive bond.”

Rogers and his wife, Tanya Roseony, a former prosecutor with the Baldwin County District Attorney’s Office and former assistant district attorney in DeKalb County, were planning to open an Italian restaurant, Wiseguys, in the downtown area, sometime in the coming weeks. Contacted in Mobile by phone Tuesday, Hallford-Roseony declined comment.

According to records on file at the Kane County Circuit Clerk’s Office in Geneva, Ill., an Illinois court convicted Rogers in January 1987 of the felony crime of aggravated criminal sexual abuse while using a weapon, and inflicting bodily harm on a female under the age of 15. He served four years in prison.

A listing for Rogers appears on the Illinois sex offender Web site, under the name “Vernon Rogers” with the indication that Rogers’ address is unknown and the statement that, “[the] offender has fled the address given on registration records without notification.”

Illinois officials confirmed Rogers failed to register as a sex offender there and later left the state without providing a forwarding address, resulting in the current felony.

Walker said Rogers has been living in Fort Payne, apparently at a residence owned by his wife. Rogers last registered an address in Aurora, Ill.

Dan Ferrelli, director of media relations for the Aurora Police Department, said Illinois State Police reported earlier this year that Rogers could have been using an Aurora address as recently as February. Ferrelli said Rogers has a history of failing to register. Rogers moved from Aurora to neighboring Kendall County in 1999, where he failed to register and was subsequently charged with the crime, Ferrelli said.

Rogers pleaded guilty in Kendall County in 2000. At that time, Ferrelli said an Illinois judge ordered 10 additional years tacked on to the time Rogers would be required to register as a sex offender.

Ferrelli said Illinois State Police discovered Rogers apparently moved from the Aurora address in 2000 without providing a forwarding address. He said a current address for Rogers has been missing from the state register since that time.

While Rogers has apparently been dodging his sex offender registration requirements, his wife has made a name for herself by successfully prosecuting sex abuse cases – the most recent in Baldwin County. An Associated Press story appeared in the Times-Journal last week about Hallford-Roseony’s successful prosecution of a repeat sex offender there, Charles Cleveland Malec.

A Baldwin County jury last week convicted Malec on 15 charges, ranging from first-degree sodomy to producing pornographic materials with a minor, and he now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to Fort Payne City Clerk Jim McGee, Hallford-Roseony is listed as the sole corporate owner of Wiseguys, but it was understood that she and her husband would be operating the restaurant as partners. McGee said Hallford-Roseony had applied for an alcohol sales license for the business, scheduled to be considered by the city’s alcohol review committee on today.

McGee said both the application and the future of the business itself are now in question. Under Alabama law, Rogers apparently could not legally operate Wiseguys or work there.

According to Brad Gregg, with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, the law states that “no adult criminal sex offender, after being convicted of a criminal sex offense, shall accept, maintain or carry on any employment or vocation at or within 2,000 feet of a school, child care facility, playground, park, athletic field or facility or any other business or facility having a principal purpose of caring for, educating or entertaining minors.”

Walker pointed out that Wiseguys is well within 2,000 feet of a childcare facility – Mother’s Day Out – and just across the street from a dance studio frequented by children. Although it has yet to open, most of the preparatory work on Wiseguys has been completed – the interior redecorated, tables and chairs put in place and the restaurant’s name placed on the storefront.

Although background checks are required for those applying for alcohol sales licenses in Fort Payne, Walker said it was actually a routine traffic stop that led local police to discover Rogers wasn’t who he claimed to be and was wanted on the Illinois felony charge.

Walker said Fort Payne officers stopped Roseony-Rogers’ vehicle on Thursday night and found no proof of insurance. Walker said Roseony-Rogers wasn’t driving, but officers were led to him to seek clarification on the insurance issue.

Walker said Roseony-Rogers presented police with a social security card and, when officers checked the number, it revealed the card assigned to the Rogers name, not the Roseony name. Walker said a subsequent investigation soon led police to the outstanding warrant in Aurora.

Walker said Roseony-Rogers admitted to police investigators that he was the same Rogers wanted in Aurora. Walker said Rogers was questioned but was not immediately arrested pending further investigation and clarification of procedural Illinois required to obtain the fugitive warrant from Illinois.

Before moving to Fort Payne, Rogers had lived in Baldwin County, where his wife worked, and Walker said it’s possible authorities there could also pursue felony charges. He said it’s currently being investigated whether or not Alabama law required Rogers to register as a sex offender here. Since he moved here from another state a due process hearing must be held on the matter – however, if the law does require Rogers to register and he failed to do so, Walker said that would result in an additional, local felony charge.

Walker said police are also investigating when and under what circumstances Rogers could have altered his name, despite laws being in place to prevent a convicted felon from making such an alteration.

“We believe he had to have some help in order to do that,” Walker said.

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