The Picayune Police Department is actively searching for 50-year-old Joseph Washington of 165 Whitehead Lane, in Carriere for the charge of rape, Assistant Chief Jeremy Magri said.

Washington is described as a black male, 5’11’’ tall and weighing 190 pounds, Magri said.

He is possibly driving a 1990’s model green Ford Explorer with a Mississippi license plate number of PTC 940, Magri said.

The warrant was issued based on an investigation conducted by Picayune Police that links Washington to the rape of a 14-year-old girl at a local motel, Magri said.

After the warrant was issued, the Mississippi Department of Corrections also issued their own warrant for Washington on the charge of probation violation.

Washington is registered with the state of Mississippi as a sex offender for a statutory rape conviction issued on December 15, 2000, according to information available on their website.

Anyone with information on Washington or his whereabouts is asked to call the Picayune Police Department at (601) 798-7411 or Crime Stoppers at (601) 799-CLUE (2583).