Plummer Man Indicted for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender
COEUR D’ALENE – Jason Ray Sijohn, 45, of Plummer, Idaho was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene for failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. An arraignment date has not been set.
The indictment alleges that between April and July 2011, Sijohn failed to register and update a registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Sijohn was convicted of sexual abuse in 1999, in United States District Court in Idaho. If convicted of this new offense, Sijohn faces up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and not less than five years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) was passed by Congress in 2006. The Act requires sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction where they reside. Violations of SORNA can be prosecuted in federal court.
An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.