Unregistered sex offender gets 20 months

A 59-year-old Indiana man who failed to register as a sex offender in that state or to update his registration upon traveling to San Diego was sentenced today to 20 months in federal prison.

Bruce Rowland Lawrence pleaded guilty Aug. 6 to failing to register as a sex offender in San Diego. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, signed into law by President George W. Bush, mandated the creation of a national registry with certain information set forth in the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, including name, aliases, address, social security number, place of employment and vehicle information.

The purpose of the law is to track the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders throughout the United States, authorities said. According to court records, Lawrence admitted he was previously convicted in California of oral copulation and the use of a knife and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

The defendant traveled from San Diego to Indiana in April 2008, and he knowingly failed to both register as a sex offender in Indiana and to update his registration in San Diego, according to prosecutors. Lawrence was arrested in Terre Haute last May and returned to San Diego for prosecution.

City News Service wrote and edited this story.

Tags: Bruce Rowland Lawrence, SDNN

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