Tahlequah Woman Sentenced To 24 Months For Failure To Register As Sex Offender

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Denise Sue Watie, aka Denise Sue Karrant, age 44, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment and 6 years supervised release for Failure To Register As Sex Offender. The charge arose from an investigation by the United States Marshals Service. 

The Indictment alleged that from about June 2017 until December 19, 2017, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and elsewhere, the defendant, who was required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, traveled in interstate commerce and knowingly failed to register and update her registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. She was required to register due to her felony conviction from Tulsa County, Oklahoma on January 24, 2005, for Sexually Abusing a Minor Child. 

United States Attorney Brian J. Kuester said, “One of the public safety functions of the United States Marshals Service is to investigate violations of the Sex Offender Registration Notification Act. Because of that agency’s work, the United States Attorney’s office was able to prosecute the defendant and hold her accountable for violating federal law.” 

The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Edward Snow represented the United States. The defendant will remain in custody pending transportation to the designated federal facility at which the non-paroleable sentence will be served.