United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy imposed the sentence on Roy W. Knoch, 51.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Cheswick, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 21 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release on his conviction of failure to register as a sex offender, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Hardy noted that the defendant had a previous conviction in Nebraska for failing to properly register as a sex offender and stated that a sentence of 21 months’ imprisonment, the middle of the sentencing guideline range, was sufficient but not greater than necessary to serve the purposes of just punishment and deterrence.
According to information presented to the Court, Knoch, from May 9, 2022, until in and around November 2022, failed to register or update his sex offender registration after relocating from Nebraska to Pennsylvania, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Knoch was convicted in 2011 of sexual assault on a child in the first and third degrees in the state of Nebraska, and was required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the United States Marshals Service for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Knoch.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.