Johnston County Resident Sentenced For Failure To Register As A Sex Offender

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Lance Alden Whelchel, age 31, of Wapanucka, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for one count of Failure to Register as Sex Offender.

The charge arose from an investigation by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Harris County Texas Sheriff’s Office.

On February 20, 2025, Whelchel pleaded guilty to the charge.  According to investigators, Whelchel is required to register as a sex offender because he was convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma on May 24, 2023.  From July 5, 2024, until September 12, 2024, Whelchel failed to register or update his registration despite entering, leaving, or residing in Indian country, within the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.  Whelchel will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Wittlinger represented the United States.