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A Seattle man has been arrested on
federal charges, accused of failing to register as a sex-offender as
required by law. Wesley Clinton Gray, 50, is the first person in our
area to be charged under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety
Act of 2006. Gray was arrested
this morning in downtown Seattle by deputy U.S. marshals serving on
the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force (PNWFAT) and
agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Gray is
scheduled to make his initial court appearance at 2:30 p.m. today in
Seattle federal court.
“Wesley Gray is the first
unregistered sex offender to be charged under the new federal law in
Washington,” says Acting U.S. Marshal David Miller. “We will
continue to pursue these sexual predators and assist our state and
local law enforcement partners with protecting our community.”
In early March, Gray was brought to
the attention of U.S. Marshals and the United State Attorney’s
Office as an individual believed to be in violation of the new Adam
Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Gray was charged by complaint
in U.S. District Court in Seattle yesterday with Failing to Register
and Update Registration as required by Title 18 USC Section 2250.
Gray was originally convicted of Rape
of a Child in Pierce County Superior Court in May 1990. Between 1990
and 1999, Gray was a registered sex offender in Washington State. In
1999, Gray moved to California where he also registered as a sex
offender as required by law. Sometime in 2003 or early 2004, Gray
relocated to Washington and has failed to update his registration in
Washington State as required.
On July 27, 2006, the Adam Walsh
Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 was signed into law by
President Bush. The Act provides that “In order to protect the
public from sex offenders and offenders against children…”, “the
Attorney General shall use the resources of Federal law enforcement,
including the United States Marshals Service, to assist
jurisdictions in locating and apprehending sex offenders who violate
sex offender registration requirements.”
The PNWFAT is a U.S. Marshals-sponsored partnership comprised of
investigators from the King County Sheriff's Office, Seattle Police
Department, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector
General, Washington State Department of Corrections, Washington
State Patrol, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The Task Force is
supported by the Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative and was
formed to concentrate apprehension efforts to remove federal, state
and local fugitives from the streets. The Task Force objective is to
disrupt illegal gang, gun and drug activity in the Pacific Northwest
and to reduce the amount of violence in
the region.
For a copy of the U.S. Marshals
Service wanted poster of this fugitive and additional information on
other major case fugitives, go to the U.S. Marshal’s Western
Washington website at http://www.usmarshals.gov/district/wa-w. For
additional information on the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)
Initiative, go to the PSN website at
www.psn.gov.
For information on the apprehension,
call Acting U.S. Marshal David Miller at 206-370-8602; for
information on the criminal case, call the United States Attorney’s
Office at 206-553-7970. |
