USA v Kevin Daniel Murphy

Utah has not enacted SORNA, yet court held SORNA still applied!

12-23-2011 Utah:

USA v Kevin Daniel Murphy

This case shows folks the extent to which a court will go when construing laws, this is outer-space. There is no way the average person would be able to come to the court's construction when reading the law in question. Mr. Murphy's construction -in this writer's opinion- is the correct one, in spite of the machinations the court went through to convict him. But, its the court's holding that wins, unfortunately. PS: Yes, there were parole issues too (i.e., he violated parole by leaving w/o notice), but they were not raised as part of this case.eAdvocate

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 16911–29, requires a sex offender to register and keep the registration current in each state where he resides, works, or studies. Sex offenders who change their name, residence, employment, or student status, must appear in person in at least one “jurisdiction involved” to inform the state’s authorities of the change.

In this appeal we must determine whether a sex offender violates SORNA by abandoning his residence and moving to a foreign country without notifying the authorities of the home state. We conclude he does. For SORNA purposes, a sex offender continues to reside in a state after a change in residence or employment, both of which trigger reporting obligations, even if the offender eventually leaves the state.

Therefore, even if an offender abandons his current residence and job with the intention of moving out of the country, he must update his registration to reflect his new status. We therefore AFFIRM.

Kevin Daniel Murphy is registered as a sex offender in Utah, having been convicted by Utah state courts of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Several times since his conviction, he has signed forms acknowledging his duty to notify the authorities upon any change of residence.

In 2007, he was paroled from state prison to the Bonneville Community Correction Center in Salt Lake City. While residing at Bonneville, Murphy was allowed to work in the community on the condition of restrictive movement, meaning correctional officers transported him to and from his workplace each day.

Despite these precautions, Murphy fled Bonneville a few months after his arrival. Instead of reporting to his employer, he boarded a bus to California and then took a taxi into Mexico. He ended up in Belize, believing he could escape extradition under that country’s laws. After living in Belize for six months under the name Dan Murray, Murphy was arrested for lacking proper documentation. Belize deported Murphy to the United States, where he was returned to Utah.