Catskill Sex Offender Admits Failing to Register

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Ricky J. Bilyou, age 28, of Catskill, New York, pled guilty today to failing to register as a sex offender.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and United States Marshal David McNulty.

Bilyou was convicted of child exploitation, in Clinton County, Indiana, in 2016. 

In pleading guilty today, Bilyou admitted that he was residing in Indiana in May 2019, when he traveled to Colorado.  After staying briefly in Colorado, in late September 2019, he took Amtrak trains from Colorado, to Chicago, Illinois, and finally to the Albany-Rensselaer station. He then began residing in Catskill, up until his arrest on March 18, 2020.  Bilyou knew that he was required to register as a sex offender in New York, and failed to do so.

Bilyou faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life, when he is sentenced by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino on October 14, 2020.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Barnett.