In 1999, former Concord resident Kenneth Eudy was convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child and forced to register as a sex offender as part of his sentence. After leaving Concord, Eudy failed to re-register in his new home of Myrtle Beach and is now facing up to a $250,000 fine and 10 years in prison.
Failing to register as a sex offender if required by law to do so is a serious offense. In North Carolina, it is punishable as a Class F felony. In addition to initially failing to register, a person convicted of sex offenses and required to register as a sex offender can be punished for:
- Failing to notify the sheriff that your address has changed
- Failing to return a notice requesting you to verify your address
- Forging a verification notice or submitting false information for registration purposes
The presumptive sentencing range for a Class F felony in North Carolina is 13-16 months in prison.
In Eudy’s case, since he traveled across state lines and failed to update his sex offender registration, he is subject to federal penalties. The federal failure-to-register offense carries up to a 10-year-prison sentence. This is the same punishment for failing to re-register or update registration for those who were convicted of a federal sex offense.
International travel and travel to or from an Indian reservation can trigger federal failure-to-register penalties for those convicted of state sex offenses as well.
Source: WSOCTV, “Concord man pleads guilty to failing to register as sex offender,” February 26, 2013