News Release
U.S. Department of Justice
Peter F. Neronha
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island
January 19, 2010
SEX OFFENDER SENTENCED TO 30 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON
FOR FAILING TO REGISTER IN RHODE ISLAND IN VIOLATION OF THE
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION ACT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Providence man who was required to register as a sex offender when he moved to Rhode Island in September 2009 but failed to do so was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Providence to 30 months in federal prison on a federal charge of failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Michael Sampson, 35, a convicted sex offender, was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2009 after the U.S. Marshals Service in Rhode Island determined that Sampson, who moved from New Bedford to Providence in September 2009, failed to register in Rhode Island and notify authorities of his change of address.
The sentence, which was imposed by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mary M. Lisi, was announced by U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Steven G. O’Donnell, United States Marshal for the District of Rhode Island.
Sampson, who was convicted in 1995 in Massachusetts of indecent assault and battery of a person over fourteen, moved from New Bedford to Providence in September 2009, four months after he registered as a sex offender in New Bedford. Sampson failed to notify authorities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island of his address change. His Rhode Island residence was discovered when he was arrested by Providence police on drug charges less than two months after moving into Rhode Island. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated Sampson’s SORNA violation.
SORNA provides a comprehensive set of federal standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States through the nationwide network of sex offender registration and notification programs. Additionally, SORNA requires registered sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction in which they reside, work, or go to school, and to make periodic in-person appearances to verify and update their registration information.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Rogers.
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Contact: 401-709-5357
USARI.Media@usdoj.gov
