Pocatello man convicted by federal jury for failing to register as sex offender
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – A federal jury sitting in Pocatello convicted a Pocatello man on Tuesday for failure to register as a sex offender.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Kenneth Shaye Simmons, 46, was previously convicted in the state of Utah of sexual abuse of a child. As a result of his conviction, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) required Simmons to register as a sex offender.
In May 2020, Simmons left the state of Nevada, non-compliant with Nevada’s sex offender registry, and moved to Idaho. After moving to Idaho, Simmons failed to register as a sex offender while living in the state. He was apprehended in August 2020, after law enforcement received a tip regarding his location.
Simmons is scheduled to be sentenced on July 26, 2022, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“Sex offender registration and notification programs are important for public safety purposes,” U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. said. “Sex offender registration is a system for monitoring and tracking sex offenders following their release into the community. The registration provides important information about convicted sex offenders to local and federal authorities and the public, such as offender's name, current location, and past offenses. This office and our partners take very seriously the failure to register and will bring to justice those sexual offenders, who fail to register."
U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho commended the cooperative efforts of the Bannock County Sheriff's Office, Pocatello Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service, which led to charges, and the Assistant U.S. Attorney, who presented the case to the jury.
