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Staff Report
CHARLESTON -- A man who moved to Belpre but failed to update his status as a West Virginia sex offender was sentenced to prison Monday by a federal judge in Charleston.
James Robert McKinney, 37, of Logan, W.Va., was sentenced to 21 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release for failing to update his sex offender registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia said.
According to statements made in court, McKinney knew he was required to comply with the provisions of the notification act because of his conviction on three counts of third-degree sexual assault in Doddridge County Circuit Court on Sept. 4, 2012. McKinney admitted he moved to Belpre in August 2020 without registering his out-of-state move with the West Virginia sex offender registry or registering with Ohio in violation of the requirements of the notification act.
McKinney was discovered living in Ohio on April 7, 2021, and arrested, the U.S. Attorney said.
McKinney was on parole for his Doddridge County convictions when he moved to Ohio. He will serve the sentence consecutively with a prison sentence imposed following the revocation of that parole.
McKinney also has two prior convictions in West Virginia for failing to comply with West Virginia sex offender registration requirements.
U.S. Attorney Will Thompson commended the United States Marshals Service, West Virginia Parole Services, and the West Virginia State Police.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. imposed the sentence.
Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald prosecuted the case.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 and provides minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States and strengthens the nationwide network of sex offender registration and notification programs in part by requiring registered sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction in which they reside, work or go to school.