East Chicago Man Charged With Failing to Register as Sex Offender After Prior Convictions
An East Chicago man has been charged after investigators say he failed to meet his legal requirement to register as a sex or violent offender following his release from jail earlier this year.
According to court documents, Benny Junior Darden was required to register with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department within 72 hours of his release from custody on April 14, 2025. Records show Darden last registered on May 25, 2021, listing an East Chicago address, and failed to re-register by his scheduled August 25, 2021 deadline .
Investigators reviewed Darden’s criminal history, which includes multiple prior felony convictions in Cook County, Illinois, for public indecency and lewd exposure dating back to 2015, 2016, and 2019. He also has a prior Lake County conviction for failing to register as a sex or violent offender in April 2025, for which he received a sentence of 980 days, served as time already spent in jail .
Detectives noted that after his April 2025 release, Darden did not update his registration as required. Records later showed that he obtained an Indiana state ID card in March 2023 with a Merrillville address, but he still did not notify the Sheriff’s Department of that residence. On July 22, 2025, he was arrested in East Chicago on a misdemeanor battery charge and booked into the Lake County Jail, where he remains held on that case .
Charge filed September 16, 2025:
• Failure to Register as a Sex or Violent Offender F5 Felony (2 counts)
Currently lodged in the Lake County Jail.
