A man from Bristol, Virginia, Corey Richard Parton, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to failing to register as a convicted sex offender. Parton, 36, had been on the run in Mexico for two years before being arrested in May 2025.
Court records show that Parton was convicted in December 2018 in Russell County, Virginia for proposing a sex act by a communications system and soliciting child pornography. These felony convictions required him to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). He initially registered with the Commonwealth of Virginia on April 16, 2019, and was required to re-register every 90 days.
In August 2023, the Virginia State Police began investigating Parton’s compliance with SORNA registration requirements. The investigation found that he had not updated his home address, vehicle registration information, place of employment, or use of social media—an activity he was prohibited from engaging in. Re-registration forms were sent to him but were never returned.
Parton was charged with three SORNA violations and arrested on August 16, 2023. After being released on bond, authorities discovered that he traveled to Galveston, Texas and boarded a cruise ship bound for Cancun, Mexico. He disembarked in Cancun and did not return to the ship.
Law enforcement located Parton living under an assumed name at a hotel 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 case is being investigated by the United States Marshals Service and the Virginia State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Stone is prosecuting.
