Ex-Con Fails to Register as Sex Offender

Ex-Con Fails to Register as Sex Offender

A 36-year-old man from Troy, New York, faces up to ten years in prison for failing to update his sex offender registration after moving from Vermont to New York.

Jeremy Smith, 36, pleaded not guilty on [current date] in United States District Court in Burlington to a charge of traveling in interstate commerce without updating his registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

According to court records, Smith was convicted in Bennington, Vermont in 1999 of sexual assault on a minor, which requires him to register as a sex offender with officials of any state where he resides or to which he moves.

However, after being released from prison in Vermont in early 2011, Smith moved to New York but did not register as a sex offender with New York officials, despite federal law requiring him to update his registration within three days of moving to a new state.

Smith was arrested by U.S. Marshals in South Carolina on February 21 and has been in custody since then.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy ordered that Smith be detained pending trial, which has not been scheduled.

The charge against Smith is merely an accusation, and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

If convicted, Smith faces up to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. The actual sentence would be determined with reference to federal sentencing guidelines.