DENVER (LAWFUEL) – Alden Yelloweagle, age 49, of Montezuma County, Colorado, was indicted late yesterday by a federal grand jury in Denver on one count of failure to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Troy A. Eid and U.S. Marshal Ed Zahren announced. Yelloweagle is in federal custody.
Yelloweagle was charged by Criminal Complaint on December 18, 2007. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 8, 2008.
According to the affidavit in support of the Criminal Complaint, as well as the subsequent indictment, on February 28, 2005, Alden Yelloweagle was convicted in U.S. District Court in Denver of Abusive Sexual Contact. He was sentenced to serve 12 months and 1 day in federal prison, followed by 1 year of supervised release. One of the conditions of his supervised release was that the defendant had to register with the state sex offender registration agency. On August 14, 2006, Yelloweagle was instructed by the U.S. Probation Officer to register with Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office. He registered as requested, but later failed to re-register with the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office.
The indictment alleges that on May 13, 2007, and continuing until August 1, 2008, Yelloweagle, a person who was required to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, and a sex offender by reason of conviction, did knowingly fail to register and update his registration as required by law.
“Sex offenders who fail to register may go to federal prison,” said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid.
“We’re excited about the successful prosecution of this case and other Adam Walsh investigations,” said U.S. Marshal Edward Zahren. “We will continue in our efforts to aggressively pursue Adam Walsh cases in any area where they may occur.”
If convicted, Yelloweagle faces not more than 10 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 fine, for failure to register and update registration as a sex offender.
Congress enacted The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 on July 27, 2006. The law authorizes the United States Marshals Service to create an active information sharing network to track down sex offenders who cross state lines and who knowingly fail to register and comply with state or federal registration laws.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd Norvell and Bob Mydans.
The charges are only allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
