Michigan Man Living In Sidney, Ohio Sentenced To Prison For Failing To Register As Sex Offender

DAYTON, OHIO– Jerald Richard Alm, 29, formerly of Crystal Falls, Michigan, was sentenced in United States District Court here today to a year in prison for failing to register as a sex offender. After he serves his prison time, he will be required to remain under court supervision for five years.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Acting United States Marshal Patrick Sedoti, and Sidney Police Chief William Balling announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Walter H. Rice.

According to court documents, Alm was convicted in Michigan in 2005 of criminal sexual conduct involving a victim between the age of 13 and 16. As a result of this conviction, Alm was required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act for a period of 25 years anywhere that he lived, worked or attended school.

In August 2012, Alm moved to Kentucky to live with a woman he’d met in an online chat room and did not update his registration. In June 2013, Alm moved to Sidney, Ohio, again failing to update his registration. Sidney Police arrested Alm on July 26, 2013 based on a complaint sworn out by the U.S. Marshals Service. Alm has been in custody since his arrest.

SORNA is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act in 2006. The law requires anyone convicted of sex crimes under federal law, or anyone convicted in state court and traveling in interstate commerce, to register with law enforcement agencies where they live, work or are a student.

The Adam Walsh Act provides federal criminal penalties for a knowing failure to register or update. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the U.S. Marshals Service, to assist the states in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders.

U.S. Marshals are the nation’s primary fugitive hunting organization and capture more federal fugitives each year than all other law enforcement agencies combined. For more information, go to www.usmarshals.gov.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by the Marshals and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vipal Patel, who prosecuted the case.