Houston man arrested in Pittsfield for failing to register as a sex offender

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — A Houston man was arrested Tuesday in Pittsfield for failing to register as a sex offender.

Chief Deputy Zack Orr with the Pike County Sheriff’s Department arrested Robert Wayne Niffen, 63, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender and a State of Texas Department of Corrections parole violation warrant.

Niffen, who also is on federal probation, was found at a residence in the 300 block of Landess Terrace in Pittsfield. He was arrested without incident and lodged in the Pike County Jail.  

Niffen was sentenced on June 26 to 20 months in prison and seven months of supervised release for failing to register as a sex offender in Illinois. He is required to register as a sex offender as a result of his conviction for aggravated rape in 1981. Niffen previously spent 20 years in a Texas state prison and is required to register as a sex offender for life.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department was assisted by the Pittsfield Police Department and Illinois State Police.