Lapwai Man Indicted for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

COEUR D’ALENE—Solomon Elias Wheeler, 32, of Lapwai, Idaho, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury for failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. An arraignment date has not been set.

The indictment alleges that between October 19, 2011 and February 10, 2012, Wheeler failed to register and update a registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). In March 2011, Wheeler was convicted in Nez Perce Tribal Court of sexual molestation of a minor under 16. He was required to register as a sex offender as a result of that conviction. If convicted of the SORNA charge in the indictment returned yesterday, Wheeler faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and not less than five years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.