A man from Bristol, Virginia, Corey Richard Parton, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being apprehended in Mexico for failing to register as a sex offender. Parton, 36, pleaded guilty in September 2025 to not updating his registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) and for not providing information about his intended travel abroad.
Court documents state that Parton was convicted in December 2018 in Russell County, Virginia for proposing a sex act through a communications system and soliciting child pornography. These felony convictions required him to register as a sex offender under SORNA. He completed his initial registration with the Commonwealth of Virginia on April 16, 2019, and was obligated to re-register every 90 days.
On August 8, 2023, the Virginia State Police began investigating Parton’s compliance with SORNA requirements. The investigation found that he had failed to update details such as his home address, vehicle registration information, employment status, and use of social media—which he was prohibited from using. Authorities sent re-registration forms instructing him to provide updated information; however, these forms were never returned.
Parton faced three SORNA violation charges in Bristol General District Court and was arrested on August 16, 2023. After being released on bond, investigators discovered that he traveled to Galveston, Texas where he boarded a cruise ship bound for Cancun. He disembarked in Cancun and did not return when the ship departed.
Authorities later located him living under an alias at the Ocean Dream Hotel near Coco Bongo Beach in Cancun. He was arrested there on May 25, 2025.
“This office will vigorously prosecute those who fail to register as sex offenders in the Western District of Virginia. I commend the U.S. Marshal’s Service and Virginia State Police for their outstanding work on this case,” said Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
The United States Marshals Service and Virginia State Police led the investigation into this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Stone is prosecuting.
