Mescalero Apache Man Sentenced for Failing to Update his Sex Offender Registration

ALBUQUERQUE – Dabert Wayne Comanche, 35, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 15 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  Comanche will be required to register as a sex offender after he completes his prison sentence.

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.

Comanche was charged in a criminal complaint on Feb. 23, 2016, with violating SORNA by failing to update his sex offender registration.  On March 23, 2016, Comanche was indicted on that same charge.  According to the indictment, Comanche failed to update his registration between April 7, 2014 and Feb. 20, 2016, San Juan County, N.M.

According to the criminal complaint, Comanche was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in Indian Country in April 2003 and was sentenced to a 78-month prison term.  On June 1, 2011, Comanche registered as a sex offender in Mescalero, and agreed to notify the jurisdiction to which he moved if he relocated outside of the jurisdiction.  On July 6, 2016, Comanche pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that he was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child in April 2003, and was required to register as a sex offender as a result of that conviction.  Comanche further admitted that he last reported to the Mescalero Apache Nation on Jan. 7, 2014 and should have reported in April 2014, but failed to comply.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Marshall prosecuted the case.