INDIANAPOLIS – Roberto Cruz-Rivera, of Indianapolis, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison after being found guilty of failing to register as a sex offender following a federal trial.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in 2000, Cruz-Rivera was arrested for a rape and assault he committed in a Staten Island, New York cemetery. During the rape he stabbed the woman’s face and chest, puncturing her lung. The rape victim was with another person at the cemetery, and Cruz-Rivera stabbed that victim in the head and hand. Cruz-Rivera was convicted of rape and assault in New York and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. As a result of these convictions, he was required to register as a sex offender wherever he lived or worked. Cruz-Rivera was released from a New York prison in 2016.
After his release from prison, Cruz-Rivera moved to Indianapolis. Between September 2017 and March 2020, Cruz-Rivera worked at multiple locations in Indianapolis, including the Indiana Convention Center, the JW Marriot, a Sheraton hotel, and Warren Township’s Hawthorne Elementary School. Cruz-Rivera never registered as a sex offender while living and working in Indiana, in violation of federal law.
“Federal and Indiana law require certain sex offenders to register with the state. Sex offender registration laws are an important tool for the protection of the public,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers. “Offenders who choose to violate our sex offender registration laws while living and working in Indiana will be held accountable.”
“The U.S. Marshals are the lead federal agency for sex offender violations,” said Dan McClain, U.S. Marshal, Southern District of Indiana. “Protecting the public from offenders is among my top priorities and I’m pleased with the outcome of this case.”
The United States Marshals Service investigated the case. The sentence was imposed by Chief U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton-Pratt. As part of the sentence, Judge Pratt ordered that Cruz-Rivera be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 5 years following his release from federal prison and that he comply with sex offender registry laws.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Eakman and James Warden who prosecuted this case.