U. S. v. Stevens
| Decision Date | 18 February 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. CR-08-36-B-W.,CR-08-36-B-W. |
| Citation | 598 F.Supp.2d 133 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, v. Olin Dudley STEVENS. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maine |
Gail Fisk Malone, Office of the U.S. Attorney, District of Maine, Bangor, ME, for United States of America.
Virginia G. Villa, Federal Defender's Office, Bangor, ME, for Olin Dudley Stevens.
Following a jury-waived trial, the Court finds Olin Dudley Stevens guilty of failing to register as a sex offender in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 18 U.S.C. § 2250 and 42 U.S.C. §§ 16901-16962.1
On October 28, 1993, Olin Dudley Stevens was convicted in the state of Rhode Island of two counts of sexual assault in the second degree, and sentenced on each count to a concurrent term of ten years in prison, all but two years and six months suspended, and a period of seven years and six months probation. Stipulations ¶ 1; Gov't Ex. A (Docket # 54). The parties have agreed that because he was placed on seven and one-half years of probation, his probation would have expired on March 8, 2003; however, because he was also convicted on October 28, 1993 of a separate, unrelated offense for which he received an eight-year term of probation, his probation term expired on September 8, 2003. Stipulations ¶ 3.
Under Rhode Island law, upon release from incarceration, Mr. Stevens was required to register as a sex offender; the then-existing registration requirement stated:
Any person who since July 1, 1992 has been, or shall hereafter be convicted of any offense in violation of this chapter, or convicted in another state of first degree sexual assault which if committed in this state would constitute a violation of this chapter, shall, within sixty (60) days after [July 21, 1992], or within thirty (30) days of coming into any city or town in which such person shall reside, register with the chief of police of said city or town.
1992 R.I. Pub. Laws, ch. 196, § 1, R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-37-16(a) (1992) (), repealed by 1996 R.I. Pub. Laws, ch. 108, § 3. On August 3, 1995, prison officials gave Mr. Stevens a written notice that he had a duty to register as a sex offender with "the Chief of Police of the City or Town which you have designated above within thirty (30) days of release or parole." Stipulations ¶ 2; Gov't Ex. B. Mr. Stevens signed an acknowledgement that he had read the notice and fully understood his registration duty. Id. As then written, Rhode Island law did not specify how long the registration requirement was to last. After his release from incarceration on September 8, 1995, Mr. Stevens moved to Newport, Rhode Island and under the existing law, was required to register with the Newport Chief of Police by October 8, 1995. See Stipulations ¶¶ 3, 5; Gov't Ex. E.
On July 24, 1996, the Rhode Island General Assembly "nominally repealed" the 1992 registration law and replaced it with a new regime. State v. Santos, 870 A.2d 1029, 1030 n. 1 (R.I.2005). The new law, the Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act (SORCNA), R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-37.1-1 et seq., required that sex offenders register annually, but limited their registration obligation to ten years from the date of conviction:
11-37.1-4. Duration of registration— Frequency of Registration.—(A) Any person required to register under section 11-37.1-3, shall annually register with a designated state law enforcement agency for a period of ten (10) years subsequent to the date of conviction for such offense or offenses, and shall verify his or her address with such agency on a quarterly basis for the first two (2) years of such period, unless such person has been determined to be a sexually violent predator in accordance with section 11-37.1-6(E)(3).
1996 R.I. Pub. Laws, ch. 104, § 1, R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-37.1-4(A) (1996).
On February 5, 1996, Sergeant David Bessette of the Newport Police Department wrote to Rhode Island Attorney General Jeffrey Pine and advised him that Mr. Stevens had failed to register as required. Stipulations ¶ 5; Gov't Ex. E. On November 26, 1996, a criminal complaint and arrest warrant were issued against Mr. Stevens for failure to register as required by Rhode Island law. Id. ¶ 6; Gov't Ex. F. Mr. Stevens was arrested and arraigned on December 3, 1996, and he registered as a sex offender the same day. Id. ¶ 7; Gov't Exs. G, H.2 On December 18, 1996, Mr. Stevens pleaded nolo contendere to the charge of failure to register as a sex offender, a violation of R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-37-16(g) (1992), and was sentenced to a one-year term of concurrent probation. Id. ¶ 8; Gov't Exs. F-H.
On July 3, 1997, the Rhode Island General Assembly altered the commencement dates for the ten-year durational limit for sex offender registration:
11-37.1-4. Duration of Registration— Frequency of registration.—(A) Any person required to register under section 11-37.1-3, shall annually register with a designated state law enforcement agency for a period of ten (10) years subsequent to the date of release from confinement or placement on parole, supervised release or probation for such offense or offenses, and shall verify his or her address with such agency on a quarterly basis for the first two (2) years of such period, unless such person has been determined to be a sexually violent predator in accordance with section 11-37.1-6(E)(3).
An Act Relating to Sexual Offender Registration and Community Notification, 1997 R.I. Pub. Laws, ch. 156, § 1, R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-37.1-4(A) (effective July 3, 1997) (emphasis supplied); Gov't Ex. S.
After his 1996 conviction for failing to register, Mr. Stevens complied for a time with the registration obligation. On March 23, 1998, he updated his registration by informing the Newport Police that he had moved to a new address within the city. Stipulations ¶ 9; Gov't Ex. I. In the summer of 1999, Mr. Stevens moved from Newport to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and on July 1, 1999, he signed a Notice of Duty to Register that his Probation Officer John W. Connell presented him, confirming both his new address in Pawtucket and his obligation to register with the Chief of Police there. Stipulations ¶ 10; Gov't Ex. J. Upon moving to Pawtucket, Mr. Stevens registered with the Pawtucket Police on July 8, 1999. Id. ¶ 11; Gov't Ex. K.
However, when Mr. Stevens moved again in 1999 from Pawtucket to Woonsocket, Rhode Island to live with his sister and her family, Mr. Stevens failed to register his change of address. On October 19, 2000, Mr. Stevens was arrested and charged with failing to register and he did re-register in Woonsocket on October 20, 2000. Stipulations ¶¶ 13-14; Gov't Ex. L. On November 3, 2000, Mr. Stevens was convicted for failing to register as a sex offender and he was sentenced to thirty days in jail, all suspended, and thirty days probation. Id. ¶ 15; Gov't Ex. M.
On July 10, 2003, the Rhode Island General Assembly amended the Sex Offender Registration statute for the third time since Mr. Stevens' 1993 conviction. The new law provides in part:
11-37.1-4. Duration of Registration— Frequency of registration.—(A) Annual Registration.—Any person required to register under section 11-37.1-3(A)(1) or (2) shall annually register with the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the city or town in which the person having the duty to register resides for a period of ten (10) years from the expiration of sentence for the offense ....
2003 R.I. Pub. Laws, ch. 170, § 1, R.I. Gen. Laws 11-37.1-4 (2003) (effective July 10, 2003).
After Mr. Stevens' 2000 conviction for failing to register, he continued to comply with the law. For example, on April 2, 2004, the Woonsocket Police verified that Mr. Stevens was still living in Woonsocket and was still registered as required. Stipulations ¶ 17; Gov't Ex. O. On January 17, 2007, Mr. Stevens moved with his sister and her family from Woonsocket to Waterville, Maine. Id. ¶ 18. After moving to Maine, Mr. Stevens did not inform Rhode Island authorities that he had moved out-of-state, and he did not register as a sex offender in Maine after arriving. Id. ¶ 19; Gov't Ex. P.
On February 12, 2008, a federal grand jury in the District of Maine indicted Mr Stevens for allegedly violating 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a), a part of SORNA. The Indictment alleges:
That beginning on or about February 27, 2007, and continuing until on or about February 12, 2008, in the District of Maine, defendant Olin Dudley Stevens who: (a) had been convicted of a sex offense in Rhode Island in 1993; (b) was, as a result of his conviction, required to register under [SORNA]; and (c) traveled in interstate commerce; knowingly failed to register and update his registration as required by [SORNA], [a]ll in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2250(a).
Indictment (Docket # 1). After Mr. Stevens waived the right to jury trial, the case was tried before the Court on January 16, 2009. Waiver of Trial by Jury (Docket # 56).
The Government presented the testimony of Detective Gerard Durand of the Woonsocket, Rhode Island Police Department. Detective Durand's responsibilities include coordination of the sex offender registry, and he has served in this role...
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