Lifelong Pedophile and Violent Offender Committed to Federal Custody as a Sexually Dangerous Person

NEW BERN – United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announced that United States District Judge Louise W. Flanagan committed RONALD BAKER, 55, to the custody of the Attorney General as a sexually dangerous person under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. 

BAKER has a history of sexually molesting children and engaging in violent assault.  In 1982, at age 19, BAKER was convicted in the State of Missouri for First Degree Burglary and First Degree Assault after he burglarized the residence of an adult female and stabbed her numerous times with an ice pick.  He was released on parole in January, 1993.  In 1994, at age 30, BAKER was convicted in the State of Missouri of Attempted Rape of a Child under 14 years old, two counts of Sodomy of a Child under 14 years old, and six counts of First Degree Sexual Abuse of a Child under 12 years old.  These charges related to sexual offenses BAKER committed against a child under the age of 12. 

In 2007, at age 44, BAKER was prosecuted federally in the Eastern District of Missouri for Possession of Child Pornography after possessing images of child pornography at an airport chapel.  He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and lifetime supervised release.  BAKER was released from prison in October 2014, but violated the terms of his supervised release on multiple occasions, resulting in his return to federal prison.  In August 2015, BAKER was arrested for violating the terms of his supervised release, including conditions prohibiting him from possessing obscene material and possessing or using a device with online access.  He was sentenced to additional imprisonment for one year and one day.  BAKER was released in August 2016 but was arrested just seven months later in March 2017 for again violating the terms of his supervised release, including conditions prohibiting him from committing another crime, frequenting, loitering, or residing near places frequented by children, possessing obscene material, and possessing or using a device with online access.  For these violations, BAKER was sentenced to twenty four months’ imprisonment. 

BAKER was scheduled for release from federal prison on December 22, 2018, but the United States certified him as a sexually dangerous person under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.  Congress passed that Act in 2006 to provide another powerful legal mechanism for protecting the public from some of the most dangerous sexual offenders.  The Act allows the United States to seek civil commitment of sexually dangerous persons who, because of a serious mental illness, abnormality, or disorder, would have serious difficulty refraining from sexually violent conduct or child molestation.

Reviewing those facts and other aspects of this case, three independent psychologists – including BAKER’s own selected examiner – agreed that he met the criteria for civil commitment as a sexually dangerous person.  BAKER told one of the psychologists that he can’t control himself and “If I’m out there again, and opportunity showed up I would molest or rape another child.”  BAKER told another psychologist that the prior burglary and assault offense “reminds [him] of what [he is] capable of . . . [he] can’t really rule anything out.”  He also told that same psychologist that if a child was available to him in the community, he would “get a hold of a little girl and no holds barred – just rape her full throttle.”  BAKER also admitted that as a teenager he molested several children for which he was never criminally prosecuted.  BAKER’s stipulation to these facts and the experts’ reports were provided to Judge Flanagan who, on October 23, 2018, committed BAKER to the custody of the Attorney General.

“Ronald Baker is an extraordinarily dangerous sexual predator who repeatedly demonstrated he cannot control his deviant sexual urges.  He even admitted as much to the psychologists who evaluated him,” said U.S. Attorney Higdon.  “His civil commitment is unquestionably necessary to protect our children and communities from the obvious danger he presents.”     

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina litigates all Adam Walsh Act cases for the entire country.  All sexually dangerous persons who are committed to federal custody are housed in a federal facility in that district, where intensive, residential treatment is offered to them.  BAKER is the eighty-second sexually dangerous person committed under the Adam Walsh Act.     

Assistant United States Attorney Roberto F. Ramirez and Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Lockridge represented the government in this case.