Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Samuel Maldonado (48, New York City) to 5 years and 10 months in federal prison for failing to register as a convicted sex offender after absconding from parole in New York and moving to Jacksonville. Maldonado was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release. Maldonado has been in custody since his arrest on December 15, 2016, in New York City. He had pleaded guilty on February 24, 2022.
According to court documents and information provided in open court, in 2009, Maldonado was convicted in New York of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old child. In 2011, Maldonado was convicted in New York of first-degree sexual abuse of a 14-year-old child. After being released from prison in New York in 2014, Maldonado was placed on parole. At that time, he was advised of his ongoing duty to register as a sex offender and signed documentation acknowledging that he understood his obligation to do so, including if he relocated to another state.
On March 4, 2016, authorities in New York issued a warrant for Maldonado’s arrest for violating his parole by failing to check in with his parole officer. In January 2016, Maldonado had absconded from supervision, left New York, and moved to Jacksonville. After establishing residence in Florida, he knowingly failed to register as a sex offender as required by both federal and Florida law.
On August 8, 2016, Maldonado was arrested in Jacksonville on a warrant based on his New York parole violation and was extradited back to New York. On December 15, 2016, Maldonado was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in New York City on a warrant issued by a Florida state court. During an interview, Maldonado admitted that he had several criminal convictions, including his two prior child sexual offense convictions. He also acknowledged that he did not inform his parole officer that he was moving to Florida, and further that he did not register as a sex offender in the state of Florida.
On April 5, 2018, Maldonado was convicted in Florida state court of the lewd or lascivious molestation of a minor child based on conduct that had occurred in July and August 2016 in Jacksonville.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service in New York City and Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Adam Walsh Act also provides for the use of federal law enforcement resources, including the United States Marshals Service, to assist state and local authorities in investigating, locating, apprehending, and prosecuting non-compliant sex offenders who fail to register as required by SORNA.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.