BOSTON - A Worcester man was convicted today in federal court of failing to register as a sex offender as required by federal law.
Terrance Brown, 54, formerly of Worcester and currently of Raleigh, North Carolina, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Timothy S. Hillman to failure to register as a sex offender, in violation of a federal statute.
On March 31, 2004, Brown pleaded guilty in Dudley District Court of indecent assault & battery on a person 14 years of age or older and was sentenced to 94 days in prison. According to police reports, Brown had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old female. Brown was also designated as a Level 3 sex offender and was required, for the rest of his life, to verify his address every year with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Sex Offender Registration Board.
Upon release, Brown’s address was listed as 32 ½ Ellsworth Street in Worcester. When authorities visited the address to confirm that Brown resided there, it was determined that he had moved. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board placed Brown in violation status, and a warrant was issued for Brown for failing to register as a sex offender.
Through Social Security Administration records, specifically disability benefits, authorities learned that Brown had moved from Worcester to the District of Columbia and later to North Carolina. A subsequent review of records of the United States Postal Service showed that Brown had submitted several change of address forms.
On March 14, 2012, the United States Marshals Service received correspondence from both the State of North Carolina and the District of Columbia that Brown never registered as a sex offender in either jurisdiction. On April 24, 2012, officers arrested Brown in North Carolina at which time he admitted to knowingly failing to register in the District of Columbia and North Carolina.
Judge Hillman scheduled sentencing for Sept. 24, 2012. Brown faces up to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and U.S. Marshal John Gibbons made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Hennessy of Ortiz’s Worcester Branch Office.
