Bristol, Virginia Man Sentenced to 60-Months Imprisonment

ABINGDON, VIRGINIA – A Bristol, Va. man who failed to update his sex offender registration, after resisting arrest and fleeing from police officers in August 2014, was sentenced on Friday in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.

Stevenson G. Harrison, Jr., 34, of Bristol, Va., previously pled guilty to a one count indictment of failing to register and update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act [SORNA].  In District Court on Friday, Harrison was sentenced to 60 months of federal incarceration and 10 years of supervised release thereafter.  Harrison will also be required to register as a sex offender following his release from imprisonment.

In August 2014, three officers with the Bristol, Virginia Police Department approached Harrison at a state probation office to arrest him on outstanding felony arrest warrants.  Harrison resisted arrest and fled, causing two of the officers to suffer minor injuries.  While a fugitive, Harrison did not update his sex offender registration as required under SORNA.  In November 2014, the United States Marshals Service apprehended Harrison in Lakeland, Florida, where Harrison had assumed a false name.  Harrison had been required to register under SORNA because of three 1996 convictions he received in Washington County, Virginia for aggravated sexual assault of a minor.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Marshals Service, the Virginia State Police, and the Bristol, Virginia Police Department.  Special Assistant United States Attorney Kevin L. Jayne prosecuted the case for the United States.