Georgia Man Sentenced to Over 2½ Years for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

Contact: Michael J. Conley
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 780-3257

Portland, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that James Robert Underwood, 43, of Dalton, Georgia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Nancy Torresen to 33 months in prison for failing to register as a sex offender.  Underwood pleaded guilty on June 24, 2015.

According to court records, Underwood was convicted in 1999 in Georgia for rape and other charges.  He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was released in 2009.  The rape conviction required him to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act in Georgia and any other state where he established residency.  In March 2012, Underwood established residency in Maine, but failed to register as required. 
     
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Torresen noted that this was a particularly serious violation because while Underwood was not registered in Maine, he committed gross sexual assault.  He was convicted for this crime in York County Superior Court and was sentenced in April 2013 to eight years in prison, with all but two years suspended. 
     
Following Underwood’s sexual assault conviction, Georgia reclassified him as a "Dangerous Sexual Predator" under its State Sexual Offender Registry which subjects him to electronic monitoring for the rest of his life while residing in Georgia.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Maine Probation and Parole Office and the Maine State Police, State Bureau of Identification.