Sioux City, Iowa — A Rock Rapids man who re-entered the country as an aggravated felon, failed to register as a sex offender, and violated his supervised release has been sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, 31-year-old Melvin Geovani Aguilar-Lopez of Rock Rapids received the prison term after a May 3, 2024, guilty plea to one count of illegal re-entry as an aggravated felon; a May 17, 2024, guilty plea to one count of failure to update his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act; and a May 17, 2024, admission to violations of his supervised release.
At a plea hearing, Aguilar-Lopez admitted to re-entering the country after being deported in April of 2023, after a conviction for re-entry of a removed alien convicted of an aggravated felony in the Southern District of Texas. On December 9, 2016, Aguilar-Lopez was convicted in the Iowa District Court for Lyon County for Sex Abuse in the Third Degree, a Class C felony.
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. 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 5 months and working in Lyon County for approximately 2 months. Aguilar-Lopez also admitted to violations of his supervised release.
Aguilar-Lopez was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
