Oneonta Man Admits Failing to Update Sex Offender Registration

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mark King, age 25, of Oneonta, New York, pled guilty yesterday to failing to update his sex offender registration, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and United States Marshal David L. McNulty. 

King pled guilty to violating the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), which requires a convicted sex offender to register, and keep that registration current, wherever he or she resides.  King admitted that he was previously convicted of attempted sexual abuse of a minor in Alaska, which required him to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.  King further admitted that he moved from Alaska to New York, sometime after he completed serving a 6-month term of incarceration that concluded on July 17, 2018.  Since then, King admitted, he has failed to register as a sex offender in New York or update his registration to reflect his valid address and place of residence.

King 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, when he is sentenced on March 11, 2020 by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.  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.

The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sahar L. Amandolare.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood.  Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).  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 to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.