The Safford Police Department is releasing the following information pursuant to ARS 13-3825, the Community Notification on Sex Offenders Law.
Notification must be made when certain sex offenders are released from the Arizona State Prison, accepted under an interstate compact agreement, or released from a county jail back into the community.
It is the responsibility of the chief law enforcement officer having jurisdiction where the offender intends to reside to inform the community.
Joshua Fontes is located at 109 S. 8th Ave. in Safford. He is 34 years old; 5 feet, 7 inch tall; and weighs 135 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. He was convicted in June 2023 of felony sexual exploitation of a minor, as well as molestation of a child. Fontes is a Level 3 offender.
The person who appears in this notification has been convicted of a sex offense, which allows the Safford Police Department to make community notification. The Graham County Sheriff’s Office has advised the Safford Police Department that he will be living at the listed location. This person is not wanted by the Safford Police Department or any other law enforcement agency at this time.
Safford Police Department has no legal authority to direct where a sex offender may or may not live. Unless court-ordered restrictions exist, offenders are constitutionally free to live wherever they choose.
This notification is not intended to increase public fear; rather, it is to inform the community of sex offenders living in the city and to comply with ARS 13-3825. Community Notification is a sex offender law designed to make our community an informed and safer community. Citizen(s) who use this information to threaten, intimidate, harass or cause any harm to these individuals will not be tolerated and are subject to charges being filed against anyone violating the law.
For questions regarding current criminal activity on this or any other offenders, call 928-432-4100, or if an emergency, dial 9-1-1.
