Local and state officials on Wednesday encouraged residents to be vigilant in reporting suspicious behavior in their communities.

In light of the arrival last week of high-risk sex offender Sylvester Akondaye Mustin, 34, officials hosted a meeting at City Hall to inform residents about Mustin’s background but also to remind people there are other offenders already in the community — some who have been arrested and others who haven’t.

About a handful of people attended.

Michele Murphy, with the Minnesota Department of Corrections, said she understands the fear and concern that a high-risk sex offender can bring to a neighborhood. However, she said, people must remember offenders have always lived in the community.

She said as of January 2012, there were 17,000 active predatory offenders registered in Minnesota, of which 239 are classified as high-risk — or Level 3 — offenders.

In Minnesota, offenders are rated based on several criteria, including the seriousness of the offense, age of the victim, prior history, number of victims, offender’s characteristics, substance abuse history and availability of community supports.

Level 1 offenders have the lowest likelihood of reoffending while Level 3 offenders have the highest. Based on the ratings of the offenders, officials know what type of notification to perform when the offenders are released from prison or move to a new community.

Murphy said Mustin, a Level 3 offender, has been convicted on three previous sex crimes.

She said in 1993, he was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a juvenile girl, including penetration. In 1993, he was convicted again of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. His victim was reportedly a 15-year-old girl. He used force to gain compliance.

In 1998, he was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Ramsey County. His victim was a 14-year-old girl. He reportedly entered the girl’s home without permission and then used force to gain compliance.

He was known to all of his victims.

After this conviction, he was sentenced to 7 years and 10 months in prison.

He has since been released from prison and is no longer under correctional supervision, Murphy said.

He must register as a predatory offender until the end of 2019.

“There’s a lot you can do to help,” Murphy said. “It starts with communicating with each other.”

With the addition of Mustin in the community, there are now four Level 3 offenders in Freeborn County.

In the Freeborn County jail is Matthew Alan Radke of Albert Lea and Brooks Daniel Fisher of London. Radke is awaiting a civil commitment hearing in August, and Fisher faces charges for allegedly violating his predatory offender registration requirements.

Also in Albert Lea is Tai Lars Stadheim at the Countryside Inn Motel on East Main Street.

Level 3 offender Cody Padraic Trott, who had moved to the city last fall, is reportedly back in prison on a parole violation, according to Albert Lea Police detective Frank Kohl.