Hampshire County man sentenced for sex offender registry violation

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Anthony Dale Helton, of High View, West Virginia, was sentenced today to 24 months incarceration for a sex offender registration violation, United States Attorney Bill Powell announced.

Helton, age 50, pled guilty to one count of “Failure to Register” in May 2018. Helton, who had previously been convicted of a sex offense in South Carolina, admitted to traveling across state lines without updating his sex offender registration, as required by law, in November and December 2017 in Hampshire County. 

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/.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The United States Marshals Service investigated.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.