Dept. of Justice news release
SYRACUSE, NY – Chad A. Worthington (43), of Ellisburg, New York, was sentenced today in federal court in Syracuse to 23 months in prison after previously pleading guilty to one felony count of failing to register and update his registration as a sex offender for failing to disclose his e-mail address to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and David L. McNulty, United States Marshal for the Northern District of New York.
In pleading guilty previously, Worthington admitted that from June 16, 2018, through April 21, 2021, he failed to register a Google email address he created on June 5, 2018, as required by SORNA. Worthington also admitted that he failed to register five other Google email addresses as required by SORNA between August 2016 and April 2021. Worthington was required to register as a sex offender because of his federal convictions in 2005 for coercion and enticement of a minor and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Worthington also admitted that his conduct violated the terms of his supervised release conditions.
Senior United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue, who presides over the case, sentenced Worthington to 15 months in prison for the SORNA offense, and to a consecutive term of 8 months in prison for the supervised release violations, leading to a total prison term of 23 months. As part of his sentence, Worthington will remain on supervised release for 10 years after he is released from prison, and he will continue to be required to register as a sex offender.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, and it was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael F. Perry as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc