Fargo Man Sentenced to Over 3 Years in Federal Prison for Failing to Register as Sex Offender

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann, has sentenced a man from Fargo, North Dakota, convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. The sentencing took place on June 1, 2026.

William Dean Locke, 38, was sentenced to three years and one month in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Locke was indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender by a federal grand jury in October 2025. He pleaded guilty on November 17, 2025.

Locke was previously convicted of a federal sex offense. Because of his conviction, he is required to register as a sex offender. Locke was aware of his obligation to register and to keep his registration current with officials within the county in which he resided. Nonetheless, from July through late August 2025, Locke knowingly failed to register and update his registration.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.

Locke was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to serve his federal sentence.

This case was brought as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Unit, 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.