LaFAYETTE — An internal investigation within the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office about why nearby residents weren’t notified of a sex offender living in the area has concluded.

According to a statement from the sheriff’s office, the reason notification was not delivered promptly was due to computer equipment not working properly with OffenderWatch, a company that facilitates sex offender records and a mechanism to notify the public of sex offenders in the area.

Chambers County Sheriff Chief Deputy Richard Carter said it took a couple of days for the county’s information technology department to resolve the issue after an update caused a laptop computer not to work correctly.

The statement from the sheriff’s office does note that the notification of Corderell Deonrea St. George, 29, of Valley, was not sent out in a timely manner.

According to the Valley Police Department, St. George was living near a woman in the 1400 block of 27th Street on Sept. 2 when he broke into the woman’s home, hit her in the head with a hammer and attempted to rape her.

Police records reveal the victim said she was asleep in her bed when a sharp pain in her head awakened her. She told police that when she opened her eyes, she saw her neighbor standing over her, holding a hammer and groping her.

St. George was later arrested in his residence on the same block and was incarcerated.

According to records provided to the Valley Times-News through OffenderWatch, St. George registered his residence with Chambers County on Aug. 19. OffenderWatch also told the newspaper that the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office did not request a mailing to go out to nearby residents until Sept. 4.

Carter said Wednesday that St. George was able to provide the adequate documentation to verify the residence in the 1400 block of 27th Street in Valley as his own.

“The Chambers County Sheriff’s Office takes the responsibility of sex offender notifications seriously and has taken corrective action to ensure that notifications are handled appropriately and in a timely manner,” the statement to the newspaper reads.

Carter said he could not expand upon what that corrective action would be, saying it was a personnel matter.

The statement said the program is now working correctly. The notification of St. George’s residence in Valley have been sent out and delivered to those living within 2,000 feet of his residence.

As a result of the Sept. 2 incident, St. George has been charged with burglary first, attempted rape first, sexual abuse first and assault first.