Edward Harold

A Butler man was sentenced Thursday to several years in state prison after being charged with failing to register as a sex offender — for the third time.

Edward R. Harold, 29, was sentenced to 50 to 100 months, more than four years to more than eight years, in a state correctional facility by county Judge William Shaffer after Harold previously pleaded guilty to felony failure to register as a sex offender.

This is Harold's third offense of the Megan's Law registry after his 2007 conviction for statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and indecent assault. He was sentenced to one to two years in state prison and 10 years of probation, for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Butler, court records showed, as well as lifetime Megan's Law registration in that incident.

State police allege Harold failed to comply with registration requirements under the state's version of Megan's Law in February. U.S. Marshals Service officers caught him in Butler.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, information received from the Butler County Probation Office indicated that Harold was not living at the home address listed on his registry after being released from the Butler County Prison on Dec. 13, 2016.

Police said his residence, employer and mobile phone number information was all found to be inaccurate, the document states.

Harold was convicted of the same offense in 2009, accused of moving to a new address in Butler without notifying state police, after they learned he had been living at a Federal Street apartment in the city for at least a month, according to court documents, which was not the Elliott Road, Center Township, address he had listed on his registry information.

He was sentenced to 6 to 12 months in the county prison in February 2010 after pleading guilty.

In 2011, he was again convicted of failing to register for not notifying state police he had moved to a new home.

In that incident, police found Harold was living with a woman on Miller Avenue in Butler, instead of the Center Township home listed on his registry information, according to court documents.

He was sentenced to 18 to 36 months in prison, followed by five years of probation in October 2011, according to court documents.

Under state law, sex offenders must annually confirm their address with state police. They also must register when they move, change employment or enroll in school.