Dulce, N.M., Man Pleads Guilty to Failing to Update his Sex Offender Registration

ALBUQUERQUE – McQuade Quintana, 28, of Dulce, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and U.S. Marshall 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.

Quintana was arrested on Nov. 25, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration.  On Dec. 16, 2014, Quintana was indicted for failing to update his registration between Oct. 10, 2014 and Nov. 25, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M.

According to court filings, Quintana was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in Jan. 2006.  On Sept 30, 2010, Quintana registered as a sex offender in Bernalillo County and agreed to notify the sheriff of the county to which he moved if he relocated outside of the county.  Quintana last registered as a sex offender on March 16, 2011, in Rio Arriba County, and subsequently failed to notify the New Mexico Department of Public Safety or the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office that he had moved or to update his sex offender registration as required by SORNA.

Today, Quintana pled guilty to a felony information and admitted that between Oct. 10, 2014 and Nov. 25, 2014, he failed to register as a sex offender in Bernalillo County.  Quintana also admitted that on Sept. 5, 2014, he was approved to reside at a residential reentry program in Albuquerque by the U.S. Probation Office and that he left the program without permission on Oct. 10, 2014.

At sentencing, Quintana faces a statutory maximum of ten years in federal prison followed by not less than three years of supervised release.  Quintana will also be required to register as a sex offender following his term of incarceration.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution.  Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.