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Lee County Fair Board says sex offender was working as game attendant

Lee County Sheriff deputies removed the worker
Lee County Fair
Posted at 12:47 PM, Mar 03, 2022
and last updated 2022-03-03 19:00:42-05

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — On Thursday, Mike Peak, President of, The Southwest Florida and Lee County Fair Association said that the Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) removed one of their game attendants, working at the Southwest Florida & Lee County Fair after learning they were a registered sex offender.

A sheriff's office report said a 45-year-old man James Tennant was arrested Tuesday.

It says he'd been working at the Lee County Fair for a week and a half under the name James Martino to avoid a background check.

It also detailed that Tennant has two prior guilty convictions in Lake and Manatee counties for failure to register as a sex offender, which the report says both involve his employment at traveling carnivals

On Thursday, nearly 20 years after his sexual assault and battery conviction.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office said a member of the public tipped them off.

Peak said the employee was brought in by the company, Reithoffer Shows, which provides ride operators as well as fair game attendants for the Lee County Fair.

Peak went on to say, that the employee who was removed, had started working for the fair after their opening day, February 24, 2022.

On Thursday, Peak could not say, how many days the employee had been working before he was removed by LCSO.

We reached out to the Lee County Sheriff's Office to ask if the employee was arrested.

This is a developing story, check back for details.