AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885

DECEMBER 19, 2007

Second Defendant Indicted in Maryland under New Federal Sex Offender Registry Law

First Defendant Charged Under New Law Pleads Guilty

Baltimore, Maryland – A grand jury indicted Connedious Green, age 40, of Severn, Maryland, for failing to register as a sex offender under a federal law enacted on July 27, 2006 which requires States to maintain a database of sex offenders, and requires sex offenders to register and regularly update their information in the database, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. The indictment was returned on December 12, 2007 and unsealed today upon Green’s arrest.

According to the indictment, on February 4, 1997, Green was convicted of a sex offense in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C. On May 27, 2005, Green signed a document acknowledging that he was subject to registration as a sex offender in any state in which he resides, is employed or is a student. Green moved to Severn, Maryland, and the indictment alleges that he failed to register as a sex offender from at least February 28, 2007 to December 11, 2007.

Green is the second defendant to be indicted in Maryland under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) which requires sex offenders to register in the state in which they reside, are employed or are a student, before completing a sentence of imprisonment, or within three days after being sentenced to a term that does not include confinement. SORNA applies to sex offenders who were convicted of a sex offense prior to the enactment of SORNA.

Green faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender. Green had his initial appearance in federal district court at 3:00 p.m. today.

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.

The first defendant to be indicted in Maryland under SORNA was Brian Lee Gould, age 56, of Brooklyn, Maryland. Gould pleaded guilty on December 13, 2007 to failing to register as a sex offender, after U.S. District Court Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. ruled that SORNA was not unconstitutional. Judge Quarles’s ruling was the first federal interpretation of SORNA in the U.S. District Court in Maryland.

According to his plea agreement, Gould was sentenced in June 1985 in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia to seven to 21 years in prison for assault with intent to commit sodomy while armed. He was released from prison on July 8, 2002.

In March 2004, Gould moved to West Virginia. He was convicted in November 2004 in state court for failing to provide information relative to his duty to register as a sex offender and sentenced to 90 days in prison. On December 31, 2004, Gould moved to Pennsylvania, but failed to comply with Pennsylvania’s state law requiring continuing notification, and a state arrest warrant was issued.

In addition, on August 20, 2006, Gould had advised his federal probation officer that he was leaving Pennsylvania to live with his brother in Hancock, Maryland. Gould was told that he was not permitted to leave the state. Between August 21 and August 28, 2006, Gould failed to keep appointments with his federal parole officer in Pennsylvania and a federal arrest warrant was also issued. In November 2006, Gould obtained a Maryland driver’s license using his address in Hancock, Maryland.

Subsequently, Gould moved to Brooklyn, Maryland, where he was arrested by federal authorities on July 18, 2007 for the federal parole violation. At no time did Gould comply with obligation to register with the State of Maryland as a convicted sex offender.

Gould faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Quarles scheduled sentencing for February 22, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.

These cases were brought as part of 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Marshals Service for their investigative work. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg, who is prosecuting both cases.