CALDWELL MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FAILING TO REGISTER AS SEX OFFENDER
Ronnie Dean Daniels, 63, of Caldwell, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday to failure to register as a sex offender, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Daniels appeared before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale in Boise.
According to the plea agreement, Daniels was previously convicted of rape in Chelan County, Washington. After completing sex offender registration in Idaho on six occasions between 2003 and 2006, Daniels notified authorities that he had moved to Foulkner County, Arkansas. After completing his registration in Arkansas on several occasions in 2006 and 2007, Daniels failed to register and his whereabouts were unknown to authorities there. In February 2008, a warrant for Daniels' arrest was issued in Arkansas. The U.S. Marshals Service in Idaho, while working on a fugitive task force, received information that Daniels was maybe living in Caldwell, Idaho. Daniels was subsequently arrested in Idaho. During an interview with investigators, Daniels admitted moving from Arkansas to Idaho in November 2007. He admitted knowing he was required to register as a sex offender in Idaho, but stated that he had not registered because he did not know which address to provide. Following a consent search of Daniels' Caldwell premises and vehicles, investigators discovered two vehicle registration certificates from the State of Idaho, one issued in November 2008 and one in May 2009, listing Daniels as the owner of the vehicles with a residence in Caldwell. The investigation also revealed that Daniels had been living in the home as a caretaker since approximately September 2009.
The charge carries a maximum punishment of up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release from five years to life. Sentencing is scheduled for September 12, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Daniels was prosecuted for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which was passed by Congress in 2006. The Act requires sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction where they reside. Violations of SORNA can be prosecuted in federal court.
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