DENVER (LAWFUEL) – Dominic Eugene Hughes, age 33, of Weld County, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel to serve 30 months in federal prison for failure to register as a sex offender, United States Attorney Troy Eid and U.S. Marshal Edward Zahren announced today. After his prison sentence, Hughes was ordered to serve 3 years on supervised release, and to again register as a sex offender. Hughes, who is in custody, was remanded following the hearing.
Dominic Eugene Hughes was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on February 12, 2008. He pled guilty on April 25, 2008. He was sentenced yesterday, December 23, 2008.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on August 4, 1999, Hughes was convicted of sexual assault on a child in both Teller County and El Paso County, Colorado. Hughes was sentenced to serve 4 years for the sexual assault of a child in Teller County, and an additional 6 years for the sexual assault of a child in El Paso County. The sentences were to be served consecutively. These convictions involve a sexual act on a child, which is defined as a child who had attained the age of 12 but had not attained the age of 16, and was at least four years younger than the defendant.
On February 1, 2006, March 8, 2006, and April 19, 2006, the State of Colorado gave written notification to the defendant that, if he changed residence to another state, he was required to notify the law enforcement agency in that state designated for sex offender registration. Hughes relocated from Colorado to Charlotte, North Carolina. On September 6, 2006, the State of North Carolina gave written notification to the defendant that, if he changed his residence to another state, he was to report the new address to the last registering North Carolina Sheriff and comply with any registration requirements in the new state of residence.
On November 27, 2007, Hughes was arrested in Weld County, Colorado. Further investigation revealed that he had signed a lease agreement on October 31, 2007, for a residence in Grover, Colorado. The defendant had traveled from North Carolina to Colorado on a date after June 2007 and prior to October 22, 2007. A check of the Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC) sex offender registry on November 27, 2007 revealed that the defendant was not currently registered in the State of Colorado as a sex offender.
“Convicted sex offenders are required to register regardless of where they live – if they don’t they will be prosecuted,” said United States Attorney Troy Eid.
“Dominic Hughes is a perfect example of the kind of offender that we target in support of the Adam Walsh Act”, said Colorado U.S. Marshal Edward Zahren. “We will continue to collaborate with other agencies to identify, investigate and seek prosecution of non-compliant sex offenders.”
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Weld County Sheriff’s Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Davies.
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.
