A 36-year old convicted sex offender has entered a guilty plea for failing to notify authorities of international travel, announced U.S. Attorney Trent Shores.
On Oct. 25, the U.S. Marshals Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force apprehended Kaylynn Dee Meyer, of Vinita, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Today she pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to failure to report information required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act that she intended to and did, in fact, travel outside the United States.
In 2013, Meyer was convicted of enabling child sexual abuse in Pawnee County. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with all but the first six months suspended. A warrant for her arrest was subsequently issued in 2017 in Craig County for failure to register as a sex offender and for a new accusation of child abuse by injury. Authorities had been unable to locate Meyer until she was discovered in Mexico.
“Convicted sex offenders do not get to avoid registration. Communities should be aware when a convicted sexual predator is residing, working, or going to school in their neighborhood. The defendant in this case, Kaylynn Meyer, repeatedly violated her requirements to register under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Fleeing to Mexico could not stop the wheels of justice from turning. Thanks to the United States Marshals Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force and our partners in the Craig and Pawnee County Sheriff’s Offices, Kaylynn Meyer will not escape accountability,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “Ensuring the timely and updated registration of sex offenders is an important duty to protecting our families and our community at large.”
U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan scheduled Meyer’s sentencing for March 6. Meyer will remain in custody until that time when she potentially faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The U.S. Marshals Service and the Craig and Pawnee County Sheriff’s Offices are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A.S. Régal is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
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