Mohammad Ali Hemmat, a 29-year-old from Milwaukee, was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity, producing child sexual abuse material, and traveling from Wisconsin to Florida (twice) to engage in sexual activity with a minor.

Hemmat used social media and other means to groom a 12-year-old girl in Florida, sending her gifts and obscene material, and even remotely accessing her laptop to search for explicit content. He was apprehended in Indiana after the victim alerted law enforcement during his second trip to Florida.

Hemmat had a prior conviction, involving a minor and was required to register as a sex offender. https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/wisconsin-sex-offender-sentenced-45-years-enticing-and-coercing-minor-engage-sexual (Nov. 01. 2024).

Commentary

In the above matter, the offender was a registered sex offender who re-offended. The purpose of registration is to monitor sex offenders to prevent additional acts of child sexual abuse. As the above case indicates, it does not always work.

According to the United States Attorney's press release:

…between April 2022 and March 2023, Hemmat used his cellphone and computer to sexually groom a 12-year-old girl in Florida. Hemmat groomed this child through daily social media video chats, text message conversations, and by sending her cash, gifts, and fast food. Hemmat shared obscene material with this child through social media applications, and he used a social media platform to remote log-in to the child victim's laptop—which he had purchased for her—to search for sexually explicit topics, images, and videos. The victim subsequently sent child sexual abuse images of herself to Hemmat over the internet.

In February 2023, Hemmat drove from Wisconsin to Florida for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with the child. In March 2023, Hemmat drove to Florida a second time for the same purpose, but law enforcement was alerted to his presence by the victim. Although Hemmat attempted to return to Wisconsin without detection, law enforcement officers apprehended him in Indiana. Evidence presented at trial also showed that Hemmat had engaged similar tactics in grooming a13-year-old child in the United Kingdom to send him sexually explicit images of herself. At the time Hemmat committed these offenses, he had a prior conviction for an offense involving a minor, requiring him to register as a sex offender in Wisconsin.  https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/wisconsin-sex-offender-sentenced-45-years-enticing-and-coercing-minor-engage-sexual (Nov. 01. 2024).

Registered sex offenders in the United States must comply with several requirements under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.

The requirements are:

• Registration: Offenders must register in each jurisdiction where they live, work, or go to school.
• Updating Information: Offender must keep their registration current by updating any changes in name, residence, employment, or school attendance.
• Periodic In-Person Appearances: Offenders are required to make periodic in-person appearances to verify and update their registration information.
• International Travel Notification: Offenders must provide advance notice of any intended international travel.
• Community Notification: Information about registered sex offenders is made available to the public through sex offender registry websites.

Each state and U.S. territory may have additional specific requirements and procedures.

The U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for enforcing sex offender registration laws and tracking noncompliant offenders.

In Fiscal Year 2024, U.S. Marshals conducted 28,373 compliance checks and arrested 9,762 sex offenders for various violations, including failure to register. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act provides federal penalties for those who attempt to avoid registration requirements. https://www.usmarshals.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/2025-Sex-Offender-Investigations.pdf (Oct. 01, 2024).

The final takeaway is that efforts are made to monitor and track registered sex offenders. However, those efforts do not prevent all registered sex offenders from re-offending.