An umpire for youth baseball in Smithton, IL. has been arrested for failing to mention that he is on the sex offender list.

Police say that 50 yr old Dennis Cotton, of Swansea, was taken into custody after officers discovered he was a sexual predator. Cotton applied for and received certification to umpire games from the Illinois High School Association.

The misunderstanding came when Smithton School officials assumed, that since Cotton was certified, he must have undergone a background check. But, the I-H-S-A does not do background checks.

Fox 2 news reports that Cotton umpired for 8 games with students in 7-8th grade.

Bond for Cotton has been set at $40,000. He’s being held in the St. Clair County Jail.