PRESS RELEASE
April 28, 2008
Ft. Mitchell, Ky. —A Boone county man, Tanz Reinaldo Samuels, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for failing to register as a sex offender. Samuels, 29, was the first to be charged in the Eastern District of Kentucky with the commission of this offense under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.
“I think this sentencing illustrates to communities in this area that we’re serious about enforcing the standards set by the Adam Walsh Act regarding the prosecution of sex offenders,” said Assistant United States Attorney Alamdar Hamdani. “Prosecuting individuals like Mr. Samuels who endanger the community by failing to register as convicted sex offenders is an important component to ensuring the safety of our communities.”
Samuels, pled guilty in January of 2008. He had been convicted in New York in 1999 of raping a 13-year-old girl, and was sentenced to four months in prison and five years probation for that offense. Samuels was also required to accurately register his residence in a sex offender registry for 10 years. After initially registering an address in New York in December of 1999, Samuels moved to Florida for several years and eventually relocated to Boone County, Ky., in December of 2006. Samuels never updated his New York sex offender registration and completely failed to register as a sex offender when residing in Florida and Kentucky.
Under federal law, Samuels must serve 85 percent of the prison sentence. Samuels faces charges of violating his probation in New York and potential removal to his native country of Trinidad and Tobago.
James A. Zerhusen, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and David Waltz, Acting United States Marshal, United States Marshal Service, jointly made the announcement today after the sentencing.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Marshal Service. The United States was represented by Assistant United States Attorneys Alamdar Hamdani and Anthony J. Bracke.