Louis Andrew Rabbitt Jr. Sentenced for Sex Offender Registration Failure

St. Francis man Louis Andrew Rabbitt Jr., 37, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced for failing to register as a sex offender—a requirement stemming from a 2001 conviction for Sexual Abuse of a Minor. On February 21, 2018, U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange handed down a 21-month prison term, followed by five years of supervised release.

The crime at the heart of the case wasn’t new abuse—but evasion of the system designed to track predators. Between July 24 and July 31, 2017, Rabbitt vanished from the registry, sidestepping federal law meant to keep communities informed and law enforcement vigilant. That lapse triggered a federal indictment on September 12, 2017.

Rabbitt didn’t fight the charges. He pleaded guilty just two weeks after the indictment, on September 26, 2017, in federal court. By then, the U.S. Marshals Service had already launched an investigation, treating the registration failure as a high-priority violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

As part of his sentence, Rabbitt was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund—a small sum, but symbolic of accountability. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel C. Nelson, who emphasized the importance of compliance for public safety.

Rabbitt’s original conviction in 2001 set the legal foundation for his registration duties. The 2017 failure wasn’t a clerical oversight—it was a willful breach of federal mandates, exposing gaps that law enforcement works daily to close. His absence from the registry during that week created risks authorities refuse to tolerate.

Immediately after sentencing, Rabbitt was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The case stands as a stark reminder: even in the absence of new violent acts, sex offenders who dodge registration requirements will face federal time. In this system, invisibility is a crime all its own.