Man Sentenced in Federal Court to Ten Years imprisonment for Failure to Register as A Sex Offender

United States Attorney James L. Santelle announced today that on January 31, 2013, Charles W. Adams (age:46), formerly of Spencer, Indiana, was sentenced in federal district court to 120 months imprisonment - the maximum sentence - for the crime of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. Chief Judge William C. Griesbach also ordered that Adams serve a lifetime of supervised release following his release from federal prison and continue to register as a sex offender.

Adams was indicted in federal court for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender following his December 1, 2010 arrest in Winnebago County on sexual assault charges. Adams has entered a not guilty plea to the Winnebago County state sexual assault charge, case number 10CF754, and has a jury trial scheduled for March 25, 2013. Adams was also charged in Winnebago County case number 11CF563 with two felony counts of Capturing an Image of Nudity Without Consent. He proceeded to trial on the latter two offenses, was found guilty, and will be sentenced on February 28, 2013.

In filings with the federal court, the government argued the pending sexual assault charge served to enhance the seriousness of Adams’ failure to register as a sex offender offense, as did his prior convictions for sexual offenses. Chief Judge Griesbach agreed and ultimately sentenced Adams to the statutory maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. The failure to register as a sex offender statute requires qualifying sex offenders to advise law enforcement of any location where they reside, work, or attend school. The indictment filed against Adams alleged that between October 2010 and the time of his arrest in December 2010, he traveled interstate and knowingly failed to register and update his registration.

The investigation was conducted by the United States Marshal Service with the assistance of the Neenah Police Department The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William J. Roach.