A Jamestown man will serve up to three years of probation after not registering with the Pennsylvania state police in accordance with Pennsylvania’s sex offender registration requirements.

Walter Morse, 46, of Jamestown was charged in January with third-degree felony failure to register with Pennsylvania State Police and second-degree felony failure to verify address/be photographed. He pleaded guilty in the Court of Common Pleas in November to failure to register with Pennsylvania State Police. He was sentenced recently by Judge Maureen Skerda in the Court of Common Pleas to three years’ probation. Morse was also sentenced to pay a $500 fine.

According to the state Megan’s Law public report, Morse was convicted of sexual misconduct in September 2009 after being charged in July 2008 with a crime against a minor. He began registering in Pennsylvania in 2019 and last updated his registration on Oct. 3, 2024.

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, the Pennsylvania State Police received a tip in January that Morse had allegedly not been living at his registered address. Detectives said in the affidavit they went to Morse’s registered address, who told them Morse had allegedly moved out in October and believed Morse had moved to Jamestown.

“I made contact with the defendant and asked where he was currently living and he stated in Jamestown, New York,” the affidavit states. “I asked if he had registered up there and the defendant advised he did. The defendant was then asked about where he moved to after leaving (his previously registered address). He advised that he stayed with several other people, including an address in Warren Pa. and provided me with a name … who he stayed with.”

Police contacted the person Morse referred them to, who said Morse moved in with her on Dec. 15 and was kicked out Dec. 24 – after which she received court paperwork for him.