Charleston Man Sentenced For Failing To Register As A Sex Offender

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston man was sentenced yesterday to a total of 29 months’ imprisonment for violating the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), United States Attorney Booth Goodwin announced. Sam Bailey, Jr., pleaded guilty to violating SORNA’s requirement that a sex offender update his registration when moving to another state or changing employment. Bailey moved from Kanawha County to Columbus, Ohio, in 2012 but failed to register as a sex offender at his new residence.

Bailey’s sex-offender status stems from a first-degree rape conviction in Monroe County, New York, in 1979.

At the time of Bailey’s SORNA violation, he was on federal supervised release for an unrelated drug conviction. His SORNA violation also constituted a violation of his supervised release conditions. The sentence imposed yesterday thus comprised 21 months’ imprisonment for the SORNA violation itself and eight months’ imprisonment for the supervised release violation. Bailey’s sentence also includes five years of supervised release after incarceration and a lifetime sex-offender registration requirement.  

SORNA, also known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, was enacted in 2006 to protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crime. 

The United States Marshals Service conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecution.  The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston.  The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice that implements a unified and comprehensive strategy to reduce the sexual exploitation of children. Project Safe Childhood combines law enforcement efforts, community action, and public awareness toward this goal.