James Robert McKinney, a 40-year-old resident of Charleston, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on September 26, 2025, to failing to register as a sex offender in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). The plea was entered in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Court records indicate that McKinney left West Virginia on March 28, 2025, without notifying authorities as required by law. He traveled by bus first to New York and then to Tampa, Florida. During his guilty plea, McKinney admitted that he intended to stay in Florida until late May 2025 and did not notify authorities about his location. Law enforcement encountered him on April 22, 2025, while he was trespassing at a church property in St. Petersburg, Florida. At that time, McKinney gave officers false information about his identity but was found with his West Virginia identification card during his arrest.
McKinney has prior convictions related to sex offender registration violations. On September 4, 2012, he was convicted on three counts of third-degree sexual assault in Doddridge County Circuit Court. He was also previously convicted twice for failing to comply with West Virginia’s sex offender registration requirements and pleaded guilty on March 16, 2022, in federal court for not updating his registration as mandated by SORNA.
McKinney is scheduled for sentencing on January 5, 2026. He faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. If sentenced under the maximum penalties allowed by law, he could also receive supervised release for at least five years or possibly up to life.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced the plea and recognized the investigative work of the United States Marshals Service (USMS). Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the case. United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing.
SORNA is part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 and sets minimum standards for sex offender registration nationwide. It requires registered sex offenders to keep their information updated in all jurisdictions where they live, work or study.
Further details can be found through public access court electronic records by searching Case No. 2:25-cr-130.
