Laguna Pueblo Man Sentenced to Thirty Months for Failure to Update his Sex Ofender Registration

ALBUQUERQUE – Howard Ortiz, 33, was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for failing to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Ortiz, a member and resident of Laguna Pueblo, will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.  He will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

SORNA, 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.

Ortiz was arrested in Dec. 2012, on a criminal complaint charging him with violating SORNA.  On Dec. 19, 2012, he was indicted and charged with failing to update his sex offender registration between Aug. 28, 2012 and Nov. 25, 2012.  Ortiz pleaded guilty to the indictment on June 19, 2014, and admitted that he failed to maintain his registration as required by SORNA.

Ortiz is required to register as a sex offender because he was convicted of an aggravated sexual abuse offense in Feb. 2001, and was sentenced to 78 months in prison.  Based on that conviction, Ortiz is required to update his sex offender registration every 90 days for the rest of his life.  In Sept. 2010, Ortiz was convicted of failing to comply with SORNA and sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.