Special to Atmore News
U.S. Attorney Richard W. Moore of the Southern District of Alabama announced last week that 47-year-old Timothy Felder of Brewton was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for his repeated refusal to register as a convicted sex offender, a charge to which Felder pled guilty in December.
According to court documents, Felder was convicted of incest in Fulton County, Ga., and was required to register as a sex offender for life. He remained compliant with the requirements for a while, but in April 2019, he requested permission to work for an amusement company that was temporarily set up in Atmore.
The request was denied, and Felder was scheduled to report to the ECSO for address verification in June 2019 but did not show up.
Sheriff’s office detectives went to Felder’s address but learned that the sex offender had been gone from there approximately two months. He reportedly told the present occupants before leaving that he was going to work for the traveling amusement company.
Felder was eventually located and arrested by the U.S. Marshal’s Service in Milton, Fla., in September 2019. He had reportedly been working with the amusement company since March 2019 and had travelled to several locations in Alabama, as well as to Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. Felder did not register as a sex offender in any of those jurisdictions, court documents show.
Felder admitted during interviews by authorities to traveling out of state, failing to register in those states, failing to get permission to travel and failing to attend registration appointments.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Moorer imposed a sentence of 14 months imprisonment, followed by a 10-year term of supervised release upon his discharge from prison. Also upon his release, Felder will be required to undergo sex offender treatment and to register as a sex offender.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The investigation that led to Felder’s arrest and guilty plea was jointly conducted by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshal’s Service. It was prosecuted by AUSA Kacey Chappelear.