Former Navy corpsman indicted for failure to register as sex offender

LAREDO, Texas - A 34-year-old South Carolina man has been taken into federal custody for failing to register as a sex offender after traveling interstate to Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Authorities arrested Robert Counterman in Laredo. He is set to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Diana Song Quiroga at 9:30 a.m.

In 2018, Counterman, corpsman in the U.S Navy, was convicted for attempting lewd acts with a child under the age of 16 and was ordered to register as a sex offender, according to the charges. He was allegedly discharged from military service following his conviction.

According to the indictment returned Feb. 6, Counterman failed to register or update his registration as a sex offender upon arriving in Texas in December 2022.

If convicted, Counterman faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) led the investigation with assistance from the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Terence A. Check Jr. is prosecuting the case, which is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

The Gulf Coast Violent Offenders and Fugitive Task Force is a team comprised of law enforcement officers from the USMS, Laredo Police Department, Webb County Sheriff's Department, Webb/Zapata County District Attorney's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety and Border Patrol. The task force's objective is to seek out and arrest violent criminals, gang members and sex offenders. These task forces combine the efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate and arrest the most dangerous fugitives. Anonymous tips can be made by texting 411TIPS (847411) keyword GULFCOAST or by going to www.usmarshals.gov/district/tx-s/index.html.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.