A former Navy corpsman has been nabbed in Texas for not registering as a sex offender after a cross-country move from South Carolina, federal authorities said yesterday. Robert Counterman, 34, was convicted in 2018 for attempting to commit lewd acts with a child under the age of 16 and has been under orders to keep his sex offender status up to date since then.
Counterman was arrested in Laredo and is expected to have his day in court Friday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The accused failed to properly update his registration after relocating to Texas in December of last year, as charged in the indictment on February 6.
Hamdani's office stated that Counterman's arrest is part of Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative aiming to relentlessly fight against child exploitation and abuse. The responsibility to safeguard our children and ensure justice has led these task forces to effectively combine resources and track down those who pose a risk to the most vulnerable.
Backing the arrest were the U.S. Marshals Service along with assistance from the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force – a team-up of several law enforcement agencies including local police and border patrol among others. The task force operates with the intent to locate and apprehend not only sex offenders but also gang members and other violent criminals. Tips from the public contributing to such operations can be submitted anonymously to authorities, demonstrating the value that community vigilance holds in the pursuit of justice.
As is standard in U.S. law, an indictment is merely an accusation, not a presumption of guilt. Counterman will remain innocent unless the charges brought against him are proven in court.
