Michigan woman indicted for helping man avoid registering as a sex offender

A Michigan woman was indicted for helping a man avoid registering as a sex offender.

Heather Butler, 30, of Romulus, Michigan was indicted on one count of failure to register as a sex offender.

Butler traveled from Michigan to Ohio and rented and paid for a hotel room in Rossford, Ohio, which assisted a sex offender in evading sex offender registration requirements, according to the indictment.

If convicted, the defendant's sentence will be determined by the Court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant's prior criminal record, if any, the defendant's role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The investigating agency in this case is the United States Marshal Service.  The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley A. Futrell and Tracey Ballard Tangeman.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  The burden of proof is always on the government to prove a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.