FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
AUGUST 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BROOKLYN, MARYLAND MAN INDICTED FOR FAILING TO REGISTER AS A CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER
First Case Brought in Maryland Under Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act
Baltimore, Maryland - A federal grand jury indicted Brian Lee Gould, age 56, of Brooklyn, Maryland, yesterday for failing to register and update a registration as a convicted sex offender, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), enacted on July 27, 2006, requires a sex offender to register, and keep the registration current, in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, works and goes to school. SORNA is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act which creates a new comprehensive national system and requirements for sex offender registration, and criminal penalties for those who knowingly fail to register or update registration.
According to the indictment, Gould was convicted in the District of Columbia for assault with intent to commit sodomy while armed and released from custody in 2002. In August 2006, Gould moved to Maryland and knowingly failed to register as a sex offender.
Gould faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, followed by a minimum of five years of supervised release and not more than life.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the U.S. Marshals Service for its investigative work, and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who is prosecuting the case.