four men plead guilty to failing to register as sex offenders
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that four men pleaded guilty in federal court this week, in separate and unrelated cases, to failing to register as sex offenders.
“These guilty pleas are a result of the outstanding work of the U.S. Marshals Service in Springfield,” said Phillips. “Our law enforcement partners have been diligent to locate and apprehend sex offenders who violate federal registration requirements. As a result, 10 defendants have been indicted since April 2011 for failing to register as sex offenders, five of whom have now pleaded guilty.”
USA v. Irwin
Michael T. Irwin, Jr., 46, of Springfield, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr to the charge contained in a July 19, 2011, federal indictment.
Irwin admitted that he failed to update his sex offender registration in Greene County, Mo., between June 12 and 28, 2011. Irwin was required to register under the Sex Offender Registration an Notification Act due to his prior convictions for rape, indecent acts and sodomy.
USA v. McGowan
Chad Wesley McGowan, 34, of Sparta, Mo., pleaded guilty on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011, to the charge contained in an April 5, 2011, federal indictment.
McGowan admitted that he absconded from supervision of his Arkansas probation officer sometime after Aug. 18, 2008. McGowan lived in Missouri under the alias of Damon Fahey for more than two years, using that alias to lease property and maintain employment. McGowan never registered as a sex offender in Missouri until his Dec. 26, 2010, arrest in Christian County, Mo., on an Arkansas arrest warrant.
McGowan was required to register under the Sex Offender Registration an Notification Act due to his prior conviction for lewd molestation.
USA v. McLendon
Richard Ray McLendon, 32, of Joplin, Mo., pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011, to the charge contained in a June 15, 2011, federal indictment.
McLendon admitted that his last registration was in New Orleans, La. Although McLendon was living in Joplin, where he was homeless, during March 2009, was arrested in Louisiana in August 2009, and was arrested in Joplin in July 2010, he never registered with any jurisdiction within the state of Missouri.
McLendon was required to register under the Sex Offender Registration an Notification Act due to his prior conviction for sexual assault.
USA v. Williams
Danny David Williams, 55, of Springfield, Mo., pleaded guilty on Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, to the charge contained in a July 19, 2011, federal indictment.
Williams admitted that he had updated his registration information to indicate he was living in Brookline, Mo., but that he never actually resided at the address. Williams entered an inpatient residential substance abuse program in Springfield on May 10, 2011, without updating his registration and left the facility without permission prior to completing the program. On June 16, 2011, he was arrested for stealing gas at a convenience store in Stockton, Mo. On June 20, 2011, he turned himself in to federal marshals and told them he had been living in the campgrounds around Stockton Lake.
Williams was required to register under the Sex Offender Registration an Notification Act due to his prior conviction for possessing child pornography.
Under federal statutes, each of these four defendants is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the United States Probation Office.
Each of these cases is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Oliver. They were investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.
