ST. GEORGE — A convicted sex offender with an extensive Nevada criminal history dating back more than a decade was initially arrested for failing to register as a sex offender in Washington County. He will now spend time in prison after the case was picked up by federal prosecutors when investigators found videos on his cellphone reportedly depicting adults sexually abusing young children.
The defendant, Michael John Winward, 49, of Las Vegas, Nevada, appeared in U.S. District Court in St. George for sentencing on one count of failing to register as a sex offender, as outlined in the indictment filed in May of last year. The charging documents allege the defendant crossed state lines when he relocated to Utah from Las Vegas, and after doing so, failed to update the sex offender registry with his new address, nor did he notify the St. George Police Department of his residency.
A series of jury trial dates were scheduled and then continued. Shortly before a trial scheduled in October, the defendant changed his plea during a hearing held before Magistrate Judge Paul Kohler on Nov. 6, 2023. The guilty plea was accepted and the case was scheduled for a sentencing hearing that was held in federal court last week.
During the sentencing hearing held on Jan. 29, District Judge David Nuffer sentenced the defendant to serve 24 months in federal prison, followed by 300 months, or 25 years of post-prison supervision, according to the stipulated agreement filed in federal court.
The indictment was filed following what was initially reported as a disorderly call on March 12, 2022, when officers responded to a convenience store on St. George Boulevard and encountered Winward reportedly drinking alcohol while crossing the street, according to charging documents filed in 5th District Court.
During a background check, officers learned that Winward was a registered sex offender flagged as being non-compliant on the Nevada Sex Offender Registry. When asked, the suspect said he had been living at a St. George motel for the past three months. He was aware that he was required to notify the local police department to update his information on the sexual offender registry as soon as he arrived in Utah, but failed to do so, he told police.
Winward was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing a third-degree felony count of failing to register as a sex offender — a requirement that stemmed from 2010 conviction in Nevada for two felonies — lewdness in front of a child and attempted sexual assault of a minor.
Less than five years later, in 2016, he was convicted of sexually motivated coercion with deadly force and second-degree felony kidnapping and sentenced to 60-150 months in High Desert State Prison in Nevada. Released five years later, what followed were multiple arrests and convictions for parole violations and failing to register until he ended up in St. George within months of his release.
During the arrest in Washington County, officers recovered the suspect’s cell phone and obtained a warrant to have the device forensically analyzed. The analysis was completed two weeks later and revealed multiple images of children as young as 8 being sexually abused by adults, including one entitled “DarkNet Access.”
The analysis also indicated that Winward had accessed several social media applications — activity that was not reported to officials in either Utah or Nevada, as required under the terms of his parole as a sex offender.
The defendant told detectives he was unaware there photos on his cell phone, telling officers someone could have hacked his phone when he was using an unsecured Wi-Fi connection. While in custody, Winward was then charged with nine second-degree felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for the images found on his phone.
The case was picked up by federal prosecutors the following month and he was indicted on the sex offender registry violation charge, the state case was dismissed.
Following the sentencing hearing on Monday, Winward remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and will continue to be held in jail in Washington County until he is transported to a federal correctional facility as designated by the court.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.