GU- Court acquits man, cites confusion over law

5-15-2009 Guam:

Douglas Lee Harrison was acquitted yesterday of a federal charge that he failed to register as a sex offender, after a judge found there was insufficient evidence he knowingly violated what she called confusing local and federal laws.

Harrison was indicted Feb. 25 in the District Court of Guam on one count of failure to register as a sex offender.

He had been convicted on the federal offense of possession of child pornography in 2004.

When Harrison met with a Guam federal probation officer in 2007, the officer advised the defendant that Guam was unable to accept his registration because it did not have a registry available, District Court Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood wrote in her order.

However, the officer was mistaken on the status of the local law, Tydginco-Gatewood said.

"Here, the evidence established that there was -- and remains, great confusion regarding the implementation of (the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act) and its registration requirements for 'sex offenders,'" the judgment states. "In fact, the court finds that it is that confusion which led to the defendant's failure to register."

Had the defendant been given correct information in 2007, he would have registered, the judge wrote.

As a condition of the defendant's pretrial release in this case, he has registered as a sex offender with the Superior Court of Guam, the judgment notes. He was listed on Guam's registry yesterday.

"The court finally notes that if the government, the federal and local probation offices were all confused -- there is a strong likelihood that the defendant was too," the judge wrote. ..News Source.. by Connor Murphy • Pacific Daily News