Jesse Castro Babauta Sentenced For Failure To Register As A Sex Offender

ALICIA A.G. LIMTIACO, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced today that defendant JESSE CASTRO BABAUTA, age 45, was sentenced by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood in the United States District Court, to seven (7) months imprisonment for the offense of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. After defendant serves his term of imprisonment, he will be placed on supervised release for ten (10) years and required to perform community service, pay a $1,000 fine, comply with a Sex Offender Treatment Assessment, and submit to a search of his person, residence and belongings, to include any computers and data in his possession.

In 1995, JESSE CASTRO BABAUTA was convicted of three counts of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct (As First Degree Felonies) in the Superior Court of Guam. As a result of these convictions, he is required under federal and local law to register with the Guam Sex Offender Registry at the Superior Court of Guam every 90 days for his entire life. Defendant BABAUTA failed to register or update his information with the Guam Sex Offender Registry between the dates of August 2011 through October 2012. As a result of failing to register, he was considered non-compliant and his name and photograph were published on the Guam Sex Offender Registry at www.guamcourts.org/sor/. He was non-compliant until federal Marshals with the United States Marshals Service (USMS) arrested him for the instant offense.

U.S. Attorney Limtiaco states, “The purpose of the Guam Sex Offender Registry is to provide important notice to island residents that sex offenders are living, working and attending schools in our community. The Sex Offender Registry is a nationwide network that exists to increase public safety and community awareness. Defendants who have committed sexually violent offenses, criminal sex conduct offenses, or criminal offenses involving minor victims must all register and maintain their registrations with the Guam Sex Offender Registry. Defendants who refuse to register or update their information will face federal punishment. The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to the aggressive prosecution of non-complaint sex offenders.”

U.S. Attorney Limtiaco noted that this prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood (PSC) Initiative, a nationwide commitment to aggressively prosecute crimes against children, to include defendants who produce, receive and distribute child pornography, as well as defendants who fail to register with the Sex Offender Registry.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosetta San Nicolas prosecuted the case for the United States. U.S. Attorney Limtiaco commends the investigative efforts of Sr. Inspector John Untalan of the United States Marshals Service as well as Sr. Probation Officer Ruben Payumo with the Superior Court of Guam.