Ashley K. Whitaker, Sex Offender Registration Violation, New York 2024

Syracuse, NY - Sex offender Ashley K. Whitaker, 49, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for knowingly and willfully making a materially false statement on his written monthly reports to the United States Probation Office, announced Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Acting United States Marshal Christopher Amoia.

Whitaker, originally from Lexington, Kentucky, was prosecuted in the Northern District of New York in 2008 for receiving sexually explicit images of an Oswego County minor. After serving a 10 year sentence for that crime, Whitaker has been living in Syracuse, NY, supervised by United States Probation.

As a result of his 2008 conviction, Whitaker has been designated a Level 2 sex offender in New York and is required by both state and federal law to register as a sex offender with the Division of Criminal Justice Services. As a part of that registration, Whitaker is required to disclose all internet identifiers and accounts.

However, upon his release from prison, Whitaker created and used an email account that he failed to disclose to the registry, or to U.S. Probation, and then over a series of written monthly reports, falsely claimed to U.S. Probation that he was in compliance with his registration obligations.

Whitaker will have to serve 3 years of supervised release on the false statement charge. In addition, Whitaker’s actions violated the terms of his supervised release for the underlying sex offense. For that, he was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, and 10 years of supervised release, to run consecutive to the false statement sentence. He will continue to be required to register as a sex offender.

Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone, III said “Sex offender registration, and truthful compliance with United States Probation is an important part of a sex offender’s sentence. These guardrails are put in place to protect the public and to monitor an offender’s transition back into society. These are simple requirements. When sex offenders fail to comply, we will hold them accountable.”

Acting United States Marshal Christopher Amoia, said “The protection of our communities, especially our most vulnerable populations, remains one of our highest priorities. The U.S. Marshals Sex Offender Investigative Division collaborates closely with federal, state, and local partners to track offenders, enforce sex offender registration laws, and to ensure compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. These efforts are central to the Marshals Service mission of protecting communities and reducing the risk posed by offenders who attempt to evade accountability.

The United States Marshal Service and the United States Probation Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa M. Fletcher, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator for the Northern District of New York, is prosecuting the case.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc

Mandatory facts: Defendant - Ashley K. Whitaker, Criminal Charges - Sex Offender Registration Violation, City and State - Syracuse, NY, Date - Not specified, Sentence - 30 months in prison, 24 months imprisonment, 10 years of supervised release, and 3 years of supervised release on the false statement charge.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndny/pr/sex-offender-sentenced-making-false-statements-united-states-probation