Moreau Man Indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jonathon Rule, age 28, of Moreau, New York, was arraigned yesterday on an indictment charging him with failing to register as a sex offender.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and David L. McNulty, United States Marshal for the Northern District of New York.

Rule appeared yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart, and was ordered detained pending trial.

The indictment alleges that Rule moved to Moreau from Detroit, Michigan, in January 2016, and lived there for approximately 2 years without registering as a sex offender.  The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If convicted, Rule faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case is being investigated by the United States Marshals Service Sex Offender Investigation Branch and the New York State Police, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon.

This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.