A Cedar Rapids man with a violent criminal past spent 11 months living off the grid as a fugitive sex offender before landing behind bars. Raymond Hockenberger, 44, was sentenced on February 22, 2018, to 8 months in federal prison for failing to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
Hockenberger pleaded guilty on September 20, 2017, to one count of failing to register as a required sex offender. The conviction stems from his relocation to Cedar Rapids in January 2016, where he vanished into the shadows, refusing to comply with federal monitoring laws designed to protect communities.
Court records reveal Hockenberger was already on probation for a prior conviction of attempted rape—forcing him into mandatory registration. While still under supervision, he compounded his criminal record by giving police a fake name and later being convicted of identity theft. His pattern of deception continued when he moved to Linn County and ignored registration protocols for nearly a year.
He didn’t register until November 2016—only after word circulated that law enforcement was hunting for him. That delayed compliance triggered a federal investigation, leading to charges that exposed his evasion of one of the strictest monitoring systems in the justice system.
U.S. District Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand handed down the 8-month sentence in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Hockenberger must also pay a $100 special assessment and serve a mandatory 5-year term of supervised release after incarceration. With no parole in the federal system, every day of his sentence must be served.
The case was pursued by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Hockenberger is currently in U.S. Marshals custody awaiting transfer to a federal prison. Case file 17-cr-57 is accessible via the Northern District of Iowa’s electronic court docket. Follow updates at @USAO_NDIA.
Related Federal Cases
- Rock Rapids Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Failure to Register · Iowa
- Cedar Falls Sex Offender Gets 21 Months for Registration Failure · North Carolina
- Trinity Sex Offender Ward Gets 24 Months · Iowa
- Kenneth J. Heavlow Jr. Sentenced for Sex Offender Registration Fraud · Iowa
- Aaron Lamonte Miles Gets 4 Years for Sex Offender Registry Violation · Iowa
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Sex CrimesSex CrimesSex CrimesSex Crimes