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Press Release

Federal Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging Convicted Sex Offender with Failing to Update Sex Offender Registration

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Kentucky

Louisville, KY – A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment on June 21, 2023, charging a local man with failure to update his Sex Offender Registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and United States Marshal Gary B. Burman of the Western District of Kentucky made the announcement.

According to the indictment, between September 8, 2017, and June 2023, Charles M. Burleson, 44, of Louisville, Kentucky, failed to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Burleson was required to register by reason of a conviction under federal law and knowingly failed to update a registration as required by the Act.

The defendant made his initial court appearance this week and a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky conducted a detention hearing, after which the judge ordered that Burleson remain in federal custody. If convicted, Burleson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.   

The case is being investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jo E. Lawless is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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."

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Updated July 7, 2023