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Press Release

Portales Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Failing to Update Sex Offender Registration

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Rodger Ernest Andrew Taylor, 67, was sentenced on Friday in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 24 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for failing to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  Taylor, a resident of Portales, N.M., also was ordered to pay a $10,000.00 fine.  He will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

SORNA, also known as the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act, requires that a convicted sex offender register in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, where the offender is employed, or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.

Taylor was arrested in Nov. 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration.  On Feb. 19, 2014, Taylor was indicted and charged with failing to update his sex offender registration in Roosevelt County, N.M., between Oct. 2011 and Aug. 2012.  Taylor pled guilty to the indictment on June 19, 2014.

According to court filings, Taylor was convicted of a sex offense in Sept. 2000, in Washington state and was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment.  As part of his sentence, Taylor was required to register as a sex offender and update his registration with the sheriff of the county where he maintained his residence.  Within three days if he established a new residence, Taylor was required to notify the sheriff of the county of his prior residence and the sheriff of the county of his new residence. 

In entering his guilty plea, Taylor admitted that between Oct. 2011 and Aug. 2012, he lived in Roosevelt County, N.M., but failed to notify the sheriff of that county that he was residing in the county.  Taylor also admitted failing to notify the authorities in Washington state that he had relocated to New Mexico.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Amanda L. Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
Updated January 26, 2015