Sun Prairie resident receives federal sentence for registration violation

Tavares D. Jones, 50, of Sun Prairie was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for violating federal sex offender registration requirements, according to a release from federal prosecutors in Wisconsin's Western District. He also faces five years of supervised release.

Jones pleaded guilty Aug. 25 to failing to register. The federal account states that he had been convicted of a sexual offense involving a minor in Chicago in 1999 and, after his prison term, lived in Wisconsin without registering for more than five years.

Prosecutors also reported that Jones lived for a time in a Sun Prairie home with a minor, contrary to bond conditions in a separate pending state case. Judge Conley described the registration failure as a significant public-safety issue and rejected avoidance of registration consequences as a justification.

The U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Stelljes prosecuted it, and authorities identified the investigation as part of the federal Project Safe Childhood initiative.