Roanoke Man Sentenced for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

ROANOKE, VIRGINIA – A Roanoke man, who previously pled guilty to being a convicted sex offender who failed to properly register as such, was sentenced today in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Roanoke, United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. announced today.

Donato Antonio Richardson, 37, of Roanoke, Virginia, pled guilty in December 2015 to one count of failing to register as a convicted sex offender. Today in District Court, Richardson was sentenced to 30 months in Federal prison and five years of supervised release thereafter.

“The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is in place to keep our communities safe,” United States Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said today. “When those required to submit to the rules of SORNA do not comply, they must be held accountable.”

According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day, Richardson was released from the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons on July 15, 2015 and began serving a term of supervised release. However, Richardson failed to report to his federal probation officer within 72 hours of his release, as required and also failed to register with the District of Columbia Sex Offender Registry. On August 27, 2015, following an investigation by the United States Marshals Service, Richardson was arrested in Roanoke, Virginia.

The investigation of the case was conducted by United States Marshals Service.  Assistant United States Attorney Charlene R. Day prosecuted the case for the United States.