Springfield Man Charged with Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

BOSTON – Phillip Jordan, 50, of Springfield, was indicted in U.S. District Court in Springfield on one count of failing to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, Jordan was convicted in 1984 of rape with a knife, gross sexual misconduct and kidnapping in York County Superior Court in Maine.  He traveled from Maine to Springfield in August 2015 and failed to register as a sex offender in Massachusetts until October 2015. 

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Office.

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.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.  In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.