Former Sacramento Resident Sentenced to Prison for Failure to Register as Sex Offender

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Zendell Despenza, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller to 10 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, in June 2014, Despenza moved from Nevada to Sacramento and knowingly failed to register as a sex offender as was required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) based on his conviction for attempted sexual assault in the state of Nevada. Despenza lived and worked in the Eastern District of California for approximately two years, and on two separate occasions during that two-year period submitted a sex offender registration form in Nevada that falsely indicated he was unemployed and residing at addresses in Las Vegas.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Sex Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team. The SAFE Team is a multi-agency task force operating in Northern California that monitors sex offenders and conducts investigations regarding sex offender registration violations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shelley D. Weger is prosecuting the case.