LIBERTY — A convicted sex offender accused of assaulting a 16-year-old girl in June [cointent_lockedcontent]was arrested last week after police asked for the public’s help in finding him.

According to sheriff’s office chief deputy Creed Hashe, James Monroe Capps III, 45, who has had addresses in Easley and Liberty, was wanted and on the run before being found and arrested by Pickens County Sheriff’s Office deputies and members of a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force at a home in Northern Anderson County last Wednesday.

Capps is charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and third-offense failure to register as a sex offender and was being held at the Pickens County Detention Center on Tuesday with no bond.

“This is a perfect example of where a strong parternship between law enforcement and the community can be so essential in the mission to identify and hold accountable the individuals that choose to prey on our citizens, and specifically our youth,” Pickens County sheriff Rick Clark said. “To those that called in with information, we say thank you for your assistance and thank you for taking part in perhaps preventing another child from becoming a victim.”

According to a warrant, Capps — who was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender in 2010 and 2012 — is accused of sexually assaulting a girl by pinning her against a kitchen counter in June. After the girl escaped and fled to a bedroom, Capps allegedly pulled her onto a bed and tried to restrain her, but she was able to flee again, according to the warrant.

The warrant claims the alleged assault happened as the girl was babysitting a 4-year-old child.[/cointent_lockedcontent]