Wilkes-Barre Man Sentenced In Federal Court For Failing To Comply With Sex Offender Registration Requirements

SCRANTON-The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Wilkes-Barre man was sentenced today in federal court in Scranton by United States District Judge James M. Munley, to serve 41 months in prison on the charge of failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Joseph Brant, age 56, a resident of the Sherman Hills Apartments in Wilkes-Barre, pleaded guilty to being a person required to comply with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act by reason of a sexual abuse conviction under the laws of the State of New York, but failed to do so upon establishing a residence in Pennsylvania.  The indictment charged that Brant traveled interstate to Pennsylvania, established a residence in Wilkes-Barre, but failed to register or update his sex offender registration information in Pennsylvania as required by the law. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Munley also ordered that Brant be supervised by a probation officer for five years following his release from prison, that he undergo sexual offender treatment, and that he comply with all registration requirements of the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act. 

The charges were the result of an investigation by the United States Marshals Service - Scranton and New York offices.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Olshefski.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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