Eritrean National Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison

For Sexually Abusing an 11-Year-Old Child
While Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

     WASHINGTON – Abraham Ayele-Sium, 26, of Eritrea, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually abusing an 11-year-old child and committing a crime of violence while failing to register as a sex offender, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Michael Hughes, U.S. Marshal for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

     Ayele-Sium has one prior misdemeanor conviction in California for a sex offense involving minor victims, which requires him to register as a sex offender.  According to the government’s evidence, Ayele-Sium moved from California to Maryland and registered as a sex offender in Maryland in 2012.  However, he then moved to the District of Columbia and did not register his new address with the District of Columbia Sex Offender Registry.  While failing to register as a sex offender in the District of Columbia, Ayele-Sium then committed a new sex offense involving a child who he molested while walking her to a District store to get a snack.

     Ayele-Sium pled guilty in May 2014 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to one count of failure to register as a sex offender with an enhancement for committing a crime of violence while failing to register as a sex offender in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  He also pled guilty to one count of second degree child sexual abuse.  The plea agreement, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for a seven-year prison sentence. The Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan accepted the plea agreement on Oct. 22, 2014, and sentenced Ayele-Sium accordingly. Upon completion of his prison term, Ayele-Sium is to be placed on five years of supervised release. He also is subject to deportation.

     As part of an overall strategy to combat child exploitation, the U.S. Marshals Service launched a nationwide operation in 2010 to target sex offenders who violate SORNA by knowingly failing to comply with their sex offender registration requirements.  SORNA is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.  The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the U.S. Marshals Service, to assist states in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and U.S. Marshal Hughes praised the work of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), as well as Senior Inspector Floriano Whitwell and other members of the D.C. Superior Court Sex Offender Investigations Section of the U.S. Marshals Service, who investigated the case. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Metro as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Heide Herrmann and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah McClellan, who prosecuted the case.