Jacksonville Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Failing To Register As A Sex Offender

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Anthony Vincent Burkitt, a/k/a “Vincent Thomas Wolfe,” (45, Jacksonville) to 27 months in federal prison for failing to register as sex offender after traveling to Florida from Maryland. He pleaded guilty on December 5, 2014. Burkitt has been in custody since his arrest on April 13, 2014.   

According to court documents, on or about June 24, 2002, Burkitt was convicted of attempted second degree rape in Baltimore County, Maryland.  Subsequent to his conviction, and after being released from prison, he traveled from Maryland to Jacksonville, where he established residency in February 2013, but failed to register as a sex offender as required by the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. On April 13, 2014, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to a residence in Jacksonville, in reference to a domestic disturbance. At the time, Burkitt was living at the residence under the alias “Vincent Thomas Wolfe” and was arrested. Further investigation revealed that he was a sex offender, and that he had been living in Jacksonville since February 2013 without registering as required by law.

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service (USMS), to assist state and local authorities in locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders. This case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the USMS, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys D. Rodney Brown and Kelly S. Karase.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.