Springfield Man Pleads Guilty to Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

Defendant previously convicted twice in state court for failing to register as sex offender

BOSTON – A Springfield man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court for failing to register as a sex offender.

Ruben Pagan, 50, pleaded guilty to one count of failing to register as a sex offender before U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni, who scheduled sentencing for Jan. 5, 2021.

Pagan, who was convicted of a sex offense in 2002, moved from Springfield to Providence, R.I. in October 2017. He remained in Providence until March 2018, when he was arrested on a Massachusetts state court warrant charging him with child sexual abuse. Pagan failed to register as a sex offender in Rhode Island, including while the warrant for his arrest was outstanding.

Pagan previously pleaded guilty to rape and abuse of a child and is currently serving a six-year state court prison sentence. Pagan was also convicted of failure to register as a sex offender on two prior occasions in Massachusetts state court.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and John Gibbons, United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.