East St. Louis Man Pleads Guilty To Failure To Register As A Sex Offender

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On April 23, 2014, Derek M. McCaster, a forty-six year old East St. Louis, Illinois, man pled guilty in federal district court, in East St. Louis, Illinois, to failure to register as a sex offender, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. McCaster is scheduled for sentencing on August 8, 2014. He faces a term of imprisonment of up to ten (10) years, a fine up to $250,000, or both, and a term of supervised release up to (5) years, and a mandatory special assessment of $100.

The violation occurred between December 13, 2012 and December 27, 2013. McCaster was required to register as a sex offender under both Illinois law and the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) because he was convicted of Sexual Assault in the Second Degree and Attempted Forcible Rape on February 6, 1995, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He last registered as a sex offender in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, on December 12, 2012. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Illinois. McCaster was arrested on December 27, 2013, in St. Clair County, Illinois, stemming from Burglary and Forgery charges of a check theft incident that occurred in October 2013. McCaster admitted to being aware of his requirements to register in Illinois and to update his registration in Ohio upon his move to Illinois in December 2012, but not having done either.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel T. Kapsak prosecuted the case.