Savanna man to be sentenced by federal judge

Feb. 16—A Savanna man accused of failing to register as a sex offender is scheduled to be sentenced later this month as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

Federal court records show Russell Cornelius McGee was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2021 with one count of failure to register as a sex offender.

McGee, 57, of Savanna, was indicted after he was found to be living approximately 1,544 feet from the Savanna School in December 2019.

An affidavit filed in the case states McGee said on a registration form his address was located in the 600 block of Washington Street in Savanna, which is within the 2,000 feet prohibited zone from Savanna Public Schools.

The registration form also had an address on East 4th Street in Savanna, in which the owner of the property said McGee did not live at that address, the affidavit states.

McGee was ordered to register as a sex offender after receiving a 10-year suspended sentence for possession of juvenile pornography in 2019 after he was accused of taking photos and video of a minor through a hole in a residential shower.

In the plea deal, McGee faces between 24-30 months in a federal prison and has to continue to register as a sex offender after his release.

"The defendant agrees that if this matter were to proceed to trial, the United States could prove the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt," the plea deal states with McGee stating he failed to register as a sex offender as required by law.

According to federal statute, the maximum possible penalty for failing to register as a sex offender is imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000, or both.

U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones II is scheduled to sentence McGee on Feb. 22 at 10:30 at the federal courthouse in Muskogee.