James E. Kelson Gets 30 Months for Sex Offender Registration Failure

James E. Kelson, 53, of Washington, DC, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 30 months for failing to register as a sex offender—a requirement he ignored for four years in Berkeley County, West Virginia.

Kelson, already mandated to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act due to a prior conviction for attempted second-degree child sexual abuse in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, vanished from the system between August 2012 and July 2016. During that time, he made no effort to report his presence or update his information, violating federal law.

The case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anna Z. Krasinski, centered on Kelson’s willful evasion of the registration process, a cornerstone of public safety monitoring for convicted sex offenders. His failure to comply spanned multiple jurisdictions and years, raising concerns about oversight gaps and community risk.

Kelson pleaded guilty in November 2016 to one count of “Failure to Register as a Sex Offender,” ending a federal investigation led by the United States Marshals Service. Authorities had tracked his movements and confirmed his prolonged absence from the registry, leading to his eventual arrest and prosecution.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided over the sentencing in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where she imposed the 30-month prison term as a consequence for Kelson’s disregard of federal monitoring requirements. No fines or additional charges were announced.

The conviction underscores the federal government’s ongoing enforcement of sex offender registration laws, even in cases without new allegations of abuse. Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen affirmed the Department of Justice’s commitment to holding offenders accountable for compliance—calling it a non-negotiable condition of reentry into society.