Sex Offender Faces 7th Failure to Register Charge

LOWELL, MA -- A 76-year-old convicted sex offender has been charged by Billerica police with his seventh failure to register as a sex offender offense.

In Lowell District Court on Thursday, Ernest Frobese Jr., a retired Chelmsford firefighter, was released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty to the charge.

He is scheduled for a pretrial conference on June 21.

Billerica police allege that Frobese, who had been living at his brother's Billerica address, failed to notify police that he had moved to Orange.

Orange police received a tip that Frobese had lived in that town for several years without registering. Frobese's wife allegedly confirmed the move to Orange, police said.

Frobese has argued against during his many court appearances over the years that he doesn't consider himself to be a sex offender, so he refuses to register.

When Billerica police arrested Frobese at his brother's Billerica home on Wednesday, he complained that the state is violating his rights by continuing to arrest him.

Frobese is labeled a Level 3 sex offender -- the most likely to reoffend -- by the state's Sex Offender Registry Board after he served 2 1/2 years in prison for a 1995 conviction for indecent assault and battery on a child.

Over the years, Frobese has been sent to Bridgewater State Hospital to be evaluated for competency.

Frobese, who has been described in the past as delusional, has been found over the years to be mentally ill.

Photo of Ernest Frobese Jr. by Lisa Redmond/lisa.redmond@patch.com.