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Press Release

New Jersey Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Nebraska

United States Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced that Stephen Tanner, age 35, formerly of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced for failing to register as a sex offender.  The Honorable Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Tanner to 12 months and 1 day in prison.  After his release from prison Tanner will begin a 5 year term of supervised release.   

Tanner was previously convicted in state court in Iowa of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree.  He received a sentence of not more than 10 years imprisonment and was required to register as a sex offender.  Upon his release, Tanner moved to Nebraska and while he registered with authorities in Iowa, he was required by law to register in Nebraska within three days of moving here.  He failed to do so.  In March of this year when officers were doing a routine check of registrants, they found he wasn’t at the address where he said he would be when he moved from Iowa.  A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was located in West Berlin, New Jersey in May.  He claimed to have moved there in March.

The case was prosecuted as a part of Project Safe Childhood.  Project Safe Childhood is an initiative of the United States Department of Justice designed to protect children from individuals who would exploit them online or offline and includes individuals who travel in interstate commerce and fail to register as sex offenders as required by law.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Updated January 29, 2015