BY ANNIE HOLLER
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — A Mingo County man already on the state’s sex offender registry was taken into custody Feb. 19 after authorities said he violated both registry requirements and the terms of his supervised release.

Jonathan Michael Aliff, 42, of West Fifth Avenue in Williamson, was arrested by West Virginia State Police Trooper J.C. Morrison following an investigation that began with concerns raised by his parole officer.

According to officials, several online accounts associated with Aliff had not been reported to state police, as required under sex offender registry laws. Investigators also determined that Aliff possessed a second cell phone, which he was prohibited from owning or operating under the conditions of his parole.

A review of the phone uncovered 12 online and social media accounts, including an email account, authorities said. Failure to register online identifiers is prohibited for individuals required to comply with registry reporting rules.

Aliff has been listed on the West Virginia State Police sex offender registry since 2023, when he was convicted of possessing material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and of distribution and display to a minor of obscene matter. He was sentenced to 2½ years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervised probation.

He is being held at the Southwestern Regional Jail in Holden.