Oprah broadcast helps nab fugitive sex offender

The same week Oprah Winfrey began devoting time on her show to tracking down sex offenders, she has a collar to show for it.

William C. Davis, 33, of Wadesville, Ind., was arrested in Fargo, N.D., on Thursday, two days after the talk-show host broadcast his face and offered $100,000 for information leading to his capture.

Jean Rosenthal of Moorhead, Minn., recognized Davis as “Mark,” a neighbor of her friend Karie Miller. She called Miller on Wednesday, and the 29-year-old Fargo deli worker discovered the man’s identity Thursday morning on a website.

“His picture came up and I started shaking so bad, I couldn’t hold my coffee,” Miller was quoted as saying in the Forum of Fargo in Friday’s editions.

Davis, who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives list, was one of several fugitive sex offenders shown on Winfrey’s program Tuesday. The reward, offered by her production company, applies to fugitives presented on the show and on www.oprah.com.

Davis faces felony charges of molesting three Indiana boys last year and failing to register as a sex offender. He was convicted of child molestation in 1992.

Davis, arrested by FBI agents, was in jail, awaiting an extradition hearing to return to Indiana.

Miller was in shock after learning of her neighbor’s background. She had helped care for him since he broke his leg in a car accident a few weeks ago.

“I’ve been cooking for him; I’ve been doing his laundry,” she said.