Bastrop resident pleads guilty to sex offender registration violation charge

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a Bastrop man pleaded guilty to not updating his sex offender registration.

Solomon Lewis Devoil, 50, of Bastrop, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Hayes to one count of failure to register as a sex offender. His plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert G. James. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Devoil knowingly failed to register as a sex offender in Louisiana and traveled in and out of the Western District of Louisiana without registering as a sex offender in the State of Louisiana. In December 1997, Devoil pleaded guilty in San Bernadino Superior Court in California to lewd act upon a child. The victim was 14, and Devoil was 32. He is required to register as a sex offender for life. Bastrop Police arrested him for failure to appear in court in January 2014 and in February of 2014 for simple burglary. On May 12 and 14 of 2015, Devoil failed to appear in court for hearings related to the simple burglary charge, and a warrant for his arrest was issued. Devoil was arrested on June 15, 2016 at an Elementary School in Oklahoma where he was working.

Devoil faces up to 10 years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of December 1, 2015 was set.

The U.S. Marshals Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney F. Michael O’Mara is prosecuting the case.