Sioux City, Iowa — A Rock Rapids man who failed to register as a sex offender pleaded guilty last week in federal court in Sioux City.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, 31-year-old Melvin Geovani Aguilar-Lopez of Rock Rapids was convicted of one count of Failure to Update his Registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
In a plea agreement, Aguilar-Lopez admitted that he was required to register and update his registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act by reason of a conviction of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree in the Iowa District Court for Lyon County in 2016. Aguilar-Lopez admitted he knew he needed to update his sex offender registration to reflect the fact he had been living in Rock Rapids for approximately five months and working in Lyon County for approximately two months.
Sentencing will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Aguilar-Lopez was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Aguilar-Lopez faces a term of imprisonment of between 15 to 21 months, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations (Sex Offender Unit), and the United States Marshal’s Service.
