United States v. Lewis

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In 1996, Marcus Lewis pleaded guilty to statutory rape in Missouri and was sentenced to five years of probation. As a convicted sex offender, Lewis was required by federal law to register his status in his state of residence under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA - and its statutory predecessors). Lewis last registered in Kansas in May 2011, and he did not voluntarily register in any other state since that time. The issue this case presented for the Tenth Circuit's review centered on whether a convicted sex offender who violated SORNA when he (1) abandoned his residence in one state; (2) moved from that state to another; and (3) knowingly failed to update his sex offender registration, could be prosecuted in the state from which he departed. The Tenth Circuit concluded that under the relevant statutory provisions and case law, a sex offender may be prosecuted in either the departure district where the offense began or in other districts where the offender was required to update his registration. View "United States v. Lewis" on Justia Law