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Press Release

Pittsfield Man Charged with Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts
Defendant previously convicted twice for rape and failure to register

BOSTON – A Pittsfield man was charged in federal court in Springfield yesterday with failing to register as a sex offender.

Anthony Robertson, 36, was indicted on one count of failing to register as a sex offender. Robertson was arrested and originally charged by complaint in February 2018; he has been detained since.

According to court documents, Robertson is required to register as a sex offender as a result of two prior convictions: in 2001, second degree rape; and in 2006, third degree rape. In 2014, Robertson was convicted in a New York state court of failure to register as a sex offender.

In approximately May 2017, Robertson traveled from New York to Pittsfield, Mass., where he established residence. In June 2017, a New York detective informed Robertson that he was wanted in New York for failing to register as a sex offender and was advised to turn himself in. Robertson neither turned himself in, nor registered as a sex offender in Massachusetts until after he was arrested on Aug. 25, 2017, on unrelated drug and firearm charges.   

The charge of failure to register provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and John Gibbons, United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Updated March 2, 2018

Topic
Project Safe Childhood