Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Failing to Update His Sex Offender Registration

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony F. Romero, Jr., 37, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 15 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  Romero will be required to register as a sex offender following his term of incarceration.  The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria.

SORNA, also known as the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act, requires that a convicted sex offender register in each jurisdiction where the offender resides, where the offender is employed, or where the offender is a student, and that the sex offender maintain current registrations.

Romero was arrested on May 26, 2015, on an indictment charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration in Bernalillo County, N.M.  Court records reflect that Romero was required to register as a sex offender because he was previously convicted of a sexual abuse crime in 2008.

On Oct. 6, 2015, Romero pled guilty to a felony information and admitted that his last registration as a sex offender was on Nov. 20, 2014, and that at the time of his arrest he had not renewed nor attempted to renew his registration.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez.