ALFRED (AP) – A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a 59-year-old convicted sex offender charged with failing to notify the state of his change of address.

After deliberating for about half a day, jurors in York County Superior Court said they were deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict in the trial of Joseph Tellier.

Tellier caused a stir last summer when he moved from Biddeford to an apartment near a school in Waterboro. At issue in the trial was whether Tellier or local authorities was responsible for notifying state officials of his whereabouts.

The defendant testified that he didn’t realize he had to provide the information because police had previously handled the paperwork for him.

District Attorney Mark Lawrence told jurors during the two-day trial that sex offenders are required to provide change-of-address information that enables the state to update the Maine Sex Offender Registry.

Defense counsel Clifford Strike said Tellier’s expectation that the York County Sheriff’s Department would notify the state was “just cause” for an exception to the requirement.

If convicted, Tellier would have faced up to a year in jail.

Tellier had served a 15-year sentence for the 1989 kidnapping and rape of a 10-year-old Saco girl. Since his release from prison, he has had problems finding a place to live because of opposition from neighbors.’