David Crosby Convicted in Montana for Dodging Sex Offender Registration

David Crosby, 44, of Forsyth, Montana, was convicted after a one-day jury trial for failure to register as a sex offender, a federal crime carrying stiff penalties for repeat offenders. The verdict, handed down in Billings, marks the latest chapter in a sordid trail of sexual violence and evasion that has spanned multiple states and over a decade.

Crosby was indicted in February 2016 on charges that he failed to register from around September 2015 to November 11, 2015—while living and working full-time as a welder’s helper in Forsyth. During that same period, he committed state-level felony offenses: assault with a weapon and sexual abuse of children. Those crimes, prosecuted by the Rosebud County Attorney’s Office, landed Crosby a 50-year prison sentence in Montana’s Sixteenth Judicial District Court in September 2016.

The roots of his registration obligation trace back to 2007, when Crosby was convicted in Colorado of sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust—a conviction that mandates lifetime registration under federal law. Despite this, in May 2015, he informed Fort Morgan, Colorado law enforcement of his intent to de-register and relocate to New York. Instead, his vehicle broke down in Forsyth, Montana, and he never left—setting up residence, securing employment, and embedding himself in the community without meeting federal registration requirements.

At trial, investigators laid bare Crosby’s failure to comply. Representatives from the Rosebud County Sheriff’s Office and the Montana Sexual Violent Offender Registry testified that Crosby never registered during his time in Forsyth. Prosecutors presented evidence that he lived openly with his family in a rented home from September to November 2015, fully integrated into the local workforce, all while evading a legal obligation that exists to protect communities from high-risk offenders.

Crosby took the stand in his own defense, admitting he did not register but claiming he believed he had 90 days to do so under federal law. That defense collapsed under the weight of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which clearly mandates registration within three working days of a change in residence or employment. His misinterpretation of the law offered no shield from criminal liability.

The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Sullivan. United States District Judge Susan Watters presided over the trial. Crosby is set for sentencing on June 14, 2017, and could face additional federal prison time on top of his existing 50-year state sentence. The conviction underscores the federal government’s aggressive pursuit of sex offenders who exploit jurisdictional gaps to vanish into plain sight.