Cobb County man sentenced to prison for failing to register as a sex offender

ATLANTA - Frederick Laron Summerset has been sentenced to two years in prison for failing to register as a convicted sex offender when he moved from Minnesota to Cobb County, Georgia in 2016.

“This defendant was convicted of violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act,” said U. S. Attorney John Horn. “The purpose of this Act is to prevent convicted sex offenders, like Summerset, from living or working around children. It also allows citizens to remain informed about sex offenders who might live near them.”

"Many parents want to know when a sex offender moves into their area. When a convicted sex offender does not register their address, it denies the community their right to know. Also it hinders law enforcement’s ability to ensure that the sex offender is not in violation of other provisions of the Sex Offender Act,” said Beverly Harvard, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia.

According to U.S. Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Summerset was convicted in Minnesota in November 2011 of committing a sex offense against a child. As a result of this conviction, he was required to register for life as a convicted sex offender. When he was released from prison in Minnesota in August 2014, he initially registered as required. However, by March 2016, he had left Minnesota. He was eventually located in Cobb County, Georgia. He admitted that he had moved at the beginning of 2016 and did not register as a sex offender with the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office because he suspected that Minnesota had a warrant for his arrest.

Frederick Laron Summerset, 34, of Hastings, Minnesota, was sentenced to two years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Summerset was convicted of these charges on April 19, 2017, after he pleaded guilty.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul R. Jones prosecuted the case.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.