Level 2 Sex Offender Sentenced to Prison for Unregistered Email Account

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Kyle Caton, 38, a registered sex offender of Albany, New York, was sentenced yesterday to a total of 18 to 24 months in prison following his plea of guilty for failure to register an email address he used to access pornography with the New York State Sex Offender Registry and admission to violating his federal supervised release in doing so. Acting United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Acting U.S. Marshal Christopher Amoia made the announcement.

According to Caton's admissions and statements made in court, Caton was convicted of receipt of child pornography in 2019 and sentenced to 88 months of incarceration, followed by 15 years of post-release supervision. Caton has been registered as a Level 2 sex offender with New York State ever since. Caton violated his supervised release conditions almost immediately following his release from prison by possessing an unauthorized internet-capable device he used to view and possess pornography and was sentenced to 9 months of incarceration. Just three months after his release from that sentence, Caton created an email account, which he used to access pornography, and failed to register the email account with the New York State Sex Offender Registry.

In this case, Caton previously pled guilty to failure to register the email address with the New York State Sex Offender Registry and admitted to violating the terms of his second term of supervised release in doing so. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Mae A. D'Agostino sentenced Caton to a term of imprisonment of 12 to 18 months on his guilty plea, followed by a term of imprisonment of 6 months on the violation of supervised release, for a total sentence of 18 to 24 months in prison. Caton was also ordered to serve a 15-year term of supervised release and remains obligated to register as a sex offender.

Acting U.S. Attorney Sarcone stated: "Here in the Northern District of New York, we prosecute every sex offender who fails to comply with their registration requirements to the fullest extent of the law. The Marshals' excellent work combined with my Office's dedication to holding this sex offender accountable ensured Kyle Caton is right back where he belongs: in prison."

"The successful prosecution of habitual offender Kyle Caton reinforces the United States Marshals Service's unwavering commitment to locating and apprehending non-compliant sex offenders. Failure to register is not a technical violation, but a serious crime that places communities at risk," stated Acting U.S. Marshal Christopher Amoia. "SORNA requires convicted sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction where they reside. Failure to comply with these requirements is a federal offense and undermines efforts to protect the public and monitor known offenders."

The U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin S. Clark prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' 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.

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