A 32-year-old Donaldsonville man has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison after admitting he failed to register as a sex offender once he settled in the Louisiana town, following a prior conviction for sexually assaulting a child in Texas. Patrick Sullivan will also spend five years on supervised release once he's out, and he's required to register as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.
According to federal prosecutors cited by WBRZ, Sullivan was sentenced to the 36-month term for failing to register as a sex offender, and the lifetime registration requirement stems directly from his conviction. The U.S. Department of Justice, Middle District of Louisiana confirmed Sullivan's sentencing following his conviction for failing to register.
Court records described in his guilty plea, per the station's report, show Sullivan established residency and domicile in Donaldsonville in January 2025. He was arrested there months later, on August 25, 2025, setting off the federal case that ended in his sentencing this week.
A Texas Conviction Followed Him to Louisiana
Sullivan's registration obligation traces back to a 2021 conviction in Dallas County, Texas, where he was found guilty of sexual assault of a child in July of that year and sentenced to three years in prison, the same account notes. That conviction is what triggered the lifelong registration requirement federal prosecutors say he ignored once he crossed into Louisiana.
In his guilty plea, Sullivan admitted that he traveled to Baton Rouge in 2024 and knowingly failed to register as a sex offender in Louisiana, according to the same source. He went on to set up residency in Donaldsonville about seven months before his arrest, all without notifying authorities of his status as required by law.
What Louisiana Law Requires
Under Louisiana law, a resident who isn't immediately incarcerated after a conviction or adjudication must provide registration information to the sheriff of the parish where the conviction occurred on the date of conviction, and then notify the sheriffs of the parishes covering their residence, employment and school within three business days, according to the Louisiana Legislature. Federally, 18 U.S.C. § 2250 makes it a crime to knowingly fail to register or update a registration as required under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, per the U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel.
Sullivan's case is not the only one of its kind to surface out of Louisiana. In a separate matter, the U.S. Department of Justice, Eastern District of Louisiana said a Texas-convicted sex offender identified as Barnes failed to register with the state after establishing residence there. The Western District of Louisiana has also pursued similar failure-to-register prosecutions in the past, according to the agency's records.
