First Defendant in the Nation Charged with Increased Sex Offender Penalty

10-22-2007 Utah:

An Idaho man who moved to Utah last year had the dubious distinction of being the first defendant in the nation charged with violating a federal law that increased the penalty for failure to register as a sex offender.

John Henry Gill, however, no longer is being prosecuted under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell on Oct. 15 threw out the charge, ruling that this new, tougher law did not apply to Gill at the time he made Utah his new home.

The next day, in an unrelated case, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell dismissed a charge brought against Keith David Wilson because his move to Utah from South Dakota also predated the date the act went into effect.

The Adam Walsh Act was signed into law by President Bush on July 27, 2006. One of its provisions, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), increased the maximum punishment from one year imprisonment to 10 years for failing to register after a move to a new state.

A few months later, a new rule made the tougher punishment also apply to offenders who committed their sex crimes before July 2006 and then failed to register. That rule was enacted in February 2007.

Gill moved to Utah in the fall of 2006, and Wilson in September 2005. Both Cassell and Campbell agreed that SORNA did not apply to them at those times, and that the increased penalty cannot be imposed retroactively for failure to register in a pre-February 2007 move.

The men might not be off the hook, however. Cassell stressed that Gill still faces possible punishment under Idaho's sex offender registration law.

"While the federal law may not have applied at that time, state criminal statutes may still cover many of these offenders if they failed to follow state registration requirement," Cassell wrote in his decision.

U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman said his office is considering whether to appeal the decisions.

He added: "While there may be some initial issues litigated as a new law comes into use, we will continue to aggressively pursue these cases in the future."

Court records show that Gill, 48, was convicted in Idaho in 2003 of possession of sexually exploitative material and was released from prison in March 2006 after serving time for the offense.

Wilson served a sentence for raping a child and was released from a South Dakota prison in 1999. ..more.. by Pamela Manson, The Salt Lake Tribune

See also SexCrimes blog discussion on the Gill case.