RUMFORD – A routine traffic stop early Thursday morning for a vehicle with a noisy muffler netted Rumford police a convicted Rhode Island sex offender who failed to register in Maine, Sgt. James Bernard said early Thursday evening.

George E. O’Neill, 35, of Waldo Street in Rumford was charged with operating after suspension and failure to register as a convicted sex offender about 2 a.m. Thursday on Route 2. He was released on $1,000 unsecured bail and will be arraigned Nov. 6 in Rumford District Court.

Bernard said that Reserve Patrolman Scott Landis stopped O’Neill for excessive exhaust noise and ran a routine check that revealed he is a registered sex offender, having been convicted in 2003 for domestic-related forcible fondling. It is unknown how long he has been living in Maine.

“He has lived at several addresses in Maine and failed to register,” Bernard said.

Additionally, O’Neill’s driver’s license was suspended on July 10 of this year.

He was released on $1,000 unsecured bail and will be arraigned on Nov. 6 in Rumford District Court.