Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CHRISTOPHER POSKUS, 47, of Waterbury, pleaded guilty today to two counts of failing to register as a sex offender.
Pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the court proceeding before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector occurred via videoconference.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), which was passed by Congress in 2006 as part of the Adam Walsh Act, provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States and seeks to strengthen the nationwide network of sex offender registration and notification programs. In part, SORNA requires registered sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction in which they reside, work, or go to school.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2010, Poskus was convicted in state court of possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 14 years of incarceration, suspended after seven years, and 10 years of probation. He also was required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. While on probation, Poskus violated several mandatory and special conditions, had his probation revoked, returned to prison, and eventually was placed under house arrest with GPS monitoring.
In July 2019, Poskus removed his GPS monitoring device and fled to California. On August 29, 2019, the U.S. Marshals Service located and arrested Poskus in San Francisco, where he was residing in a homeless shelter. Poskus failed to update his Connecticut sex offender registration to reflect an interstate change of residence, and he failed to register as a sex offender in California.
Poskus was detained from the date of his arrest until December 21, 2020, when he began serving a seven-year term of probation. On January 7, 2021, state probation officers were unable to contact Poskus, and they subsequently discovered that Poskus had left Connecticut by train shortly after his release from prison. He was again located in San Francisco, and has been detained in federal custody on March 18, 2021. Poskus again had failed to update his Connecticut sex offender registration to reflect an interstate change of residence, and he failed to register as a sex offender in California.
Poskus is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton on January 4, 2022, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
This matter is being investigated by the United States Marshal Service. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Vizcarrondo.
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