Mobridge Man Indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

Acting United States Attorney Dennis R. Holmes announced that a Mobridge, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.

Justin Jerome Howard, age 38, was indicted on October 13, 2021.  He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on October 25, 2021, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.

The maximum penalty upon conviction is ten years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, a lifetime of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  Restitution may also be ordered.

The Indictment alleges that between August 17, 2021, and August 29, 2021, near Kennel, South Dakota, Howard, a person required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and a sex offender by reason of conviction under federal law, failed to properly register as a sex offender and update his registration.

The charge is merely an accusation and Howard is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. 

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Mobridge Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook is prosecuting the case.   

Howard was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial.  A trial date has not been set.