Jesse Lee Mize, 67, of Conover, was found guilty by a jury of failing to report a new address as a sex offender during Catawba County Superior Court on Tuesday, April 9, 2019.
The Honorable Nathaniel J. Poovey, Superior Court Judge from Catawba County, sentenced Mize to an active prison term of 21 to 35 months that will be served in the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
Mize will serve that term concurrent to the sentence he was given from a May 2018 jury conviction.
The jury needed less than 30 minutes of deliberation to reach averdict and bring the two-day trial to a close.
Mize previously was sentenced to an active prison term of 50 to 70 years in Catawba County after being found guilty by a jury of rape of a child, sex offense with a child and three counts of indecent liberties with children.
He appealed that verdict to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and was given a $100,000 appeal bond by the presiding judge over the State’s objection. He posted that bond and was free pending a decision from the Appellate Court.
During that time, the defendant left North Carolina and was residing in Virginia, though he did not register as a sex offender in that state or here in Catawba County, prompting officers with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office to seek charges against him.
Mize was arrested in Virginia and extradited back to Catawba County to face trial for the new charge.
Darrin Lackey investigated the matter for the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Jamie Adams prosecuted the case for the State.
CONTACT: Nathan Key
Phone: 828-695-6193
Email: Nathan.D.Key@nccourts.org