FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
January 30, 2012	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 1:11-cr-00271-LJO

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Raul Duarte Ortega, 55, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today for failure to register or update as a sex offender.

According to court documents, Ortega has three prior sexual-assault-related convictions that are California state offenses for which Ortega is required to register as a sex offender. Ortega obtained a California driver’s license in Kern County and lived in three different locations within Kern County. From November 2007 until of August 2011, Ortega had not registered or updated his registration with Kern County or any other California authorities. As such, Ortega knowingly failed to register or update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, which was enacted as part of the Adam Walsh Act of 2006, mandates sex offenders to register with the authorities of each county in which the offender resides, works, and is a student.

This case is the product of an investigation by the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri is prosecuting the case.

Ortega is scheduled to be sentenced by United States Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on April 23, 2012. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

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