ALTON – A sex offender accused of failing to register after moving to Alton and giving fake names to police has been detained pending trial.
63-year-old Gary L. Vancil, listed as homeless out of Alton, was charged on Aug. 4, 2026 with his latest offenses of unlawful failure to register as a sex offender (a Class 2 felony) and obstructing identification (a Class A misdemeanor).
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Vancil allegedly failed to register with the Alton Police Department within three days of moving from Sangamon County, Ill. to Alton on Aug. 3, 2026. Vancil had previously been convicted in 2022 of failing to register as a sex offender, also in Madison County.
In this latest case, Vancil is additionally accused of giving a false name to an Alton Police officer by telling the officer his name was “Dramon Charles.”
This comes just over three weeks after Vancil was charged with the same offenses in a separate but similar Madison County case from July 13, 2026. In that case, he reportedly told police his name was “Gary Van.”
The Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to deny Vancil’s pretrial release from custody in this latest case. According to the petition, Vancil was out on pretrial release conditions for failing to register in a Madison County case from 2025 in which he has repeatedly failed to appear in court.
“Further, he has failed to register since January 2024 and repeatedly misrepresented his identity to officers,” the petition states.
The Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry currently lists Vancil as “non-compliant,” having last registered in 2024. The registry also lists his prior Madison County conviction of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a 15-year-old victim when Vancil was 56 years old.
Vancil currently remains in custody at the Madison County Jail in the case presented by the Alton Police Department.
All individuals charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
