Unregistered convicted sex offender gets prison time

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- A convicted sex offender was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday afternoon.

Gilberto Morales, 30, of Pawtucket pleaded guilty in federal court to failing to register as a sex offender after moving from Wisconsin to Pawtucket in June of 2011. He was convicted in Wisconsin in 2003 of second degree sexual assault of a child.

Morales has a 25-year duty to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). SORNA also requires all offenders to give consistent updates as to where they reside, work or go to school.

In addition to this conviction, Morales was also charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old Pawtucket girl . He is currently awaiting trial in state court on two counts of first degree child molestation, two counts of second degree child molestation and one count of failure to register as a sex offender.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Rogers. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr.

Rhode Island State Police assisted in this investigation.