Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Hagåtña – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that Kyle James Derus, age 39, of Wisconsin, was sentenced on August 11, 2025 to 37 months imprisonment in the U.S. District Court of Guam for failing to notify the Sex Offender Registry of his intent to travel internationally and traveling in foreign commerce, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2250(b). The Court also ordered three years of supervised release and a $100 mandatory assessment fee. Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), Derus is required to register as a sex offender in every jurisdiction where he resides, works, and attends school, including after his release from custody.
Derus was convicted of Third-Degree Sexual Assault in Wisconsin on March 20, 2017. As part of his sentence, he was required to register as a sex offender with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and comply with strict travel notification requirements. Specifically, he was mandated to notify the Registry at least 21 days prior to any international travel. However, Derus failed to meet this requirement when he traveled abroad in early 2025.
On February 17, 2025, Derus arrived in Guam and subsequently traveled to Palau. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) became aware of his travel and his planned flight to the Philippines. Philippine authorities were notified of his intended travel in advance and denied his entry into the country.
Upon returning from the Philippines on March 1, 2025, Derus was interviewed by the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency. During the interview, he stated that he had previously visited Guam, traveled to Palau for a fishing trip, and went to the Philippines to meet his Filipina girlfriend.
Further investigation confirmed that Derus never notified the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry about his international travel, as required. On March 4, 2025, the U.S. Department of State revoked Derus’s passport after it was discovered that he had failed to disclose his status as a convicted sex offender when applying for his passport. This failure violated International Megan’s Law, which mandates convicted sex offenders to self-identify as such when applying for passports. Derus’s passport therefore lacked an identifier for individuals convicted of sex offenses, as required by 22 U.S.C. § 212b.
On March 18, 2025, U.S. Marshals arrested Derus at A.B. Won Pat International Airport in Guam while he was attempting to board a flight to Honolulu. During the arrest, his passport was seized. Further examination revealed that the passport contained stamps documenting his travel to Palau, including entry on February 21, 2025, and departure on February 25, 2025. However, there were no stamps indicating his entry into the Philippines, confirming that he had been denied entry to the country.
“Guam is not a safe haven for sex offenders seeking to evade SORNA enforcement,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “Derus’s failure to comply with SORNA’s travel notification requirements and his attempt to conceal his status as a convicted sex offender led to his arrest and conviction, and the revocation of his passport. This case underscores the importance of laws that monitor the location and travel of convicted sex offenders.”
Investigation was conducted by the United States Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Customs and Border Protection, and Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency.
This case was prosecuted by Devarup Rastogi, Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Guam.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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 Justice.gov/PSC.