United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2009
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

MAN SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON
FOR FAILING TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER

LUBBOCK, Texas — Virgil Lane, 38, of Turlock, California, was sentenced Friday morning by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to serve 18 months in federal prison for failing to register as a sex offender, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Judge Cummings remanded Lane to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

On December 2, 1999, Lane was instructed to register as a sex offender, pursuant to Section 290 of the California Penal Code, following a conviction on the charge of lewd and lascivious behavior. This duty to register is a lifetime obligation. His sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation for five years.

Lane initially registered in 1999, and then renewed his registration annually from 1999 to 2008. He also registered in Florida, Washington and Utah as a temporary resident at various times during this period. His most recent registration was with California as a convicted sex offender on August 20, 2008.

In May 2009, Lane traveled to Lubbock and for a period worked as a roofer and lived in a motel paid for by his employer. Lane failed to register this employment or his acquisition of a temporary residence as required by law. From the latter part of May until early June, Lane worked scraping and painting storage sheds at Bullseye Mini Storage in Lubbock. He stayed in one of the storage units with permission, but did not register this employment or acquisition of a temporary residence as required by law.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Lubbock Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney's Office.

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