Yellowhammer Times

Joshua Kahanek, 44, has been sentenced in Mobile, Alabama after pleading guilty to failing to register as a sex offender. Kahanek entered his plea on May 21, 2025.

Court records show that Kahanek was previously convicted of first-degree rape in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2008 and received a 20-year prison sentence. He was released from prison on April 11, 2022. Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), he was required to register as a sex offender. Documents indicate that between 2022 and 2024, Kahanek completed multiple forms with his SORNA officer in Oklahoma acknowledging his registration responsibilities, including registering in any jurisdiction where he worked.

On June 7, 2024, authorities from the Foley Police Department and Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office received information about Kahanek being present in the Southern District of Alabama. The Mobile Police Department found him working at a Target store in Mobile as part of a company installing fiber optic cables. He had not registered as a sex offender in Alabama.

At sentencing, Chief United States District Judge Beaverstock imposed a sentence of time served and five years of supervised release. Kahanek had been detained since March 6, 2025. As conditions of his supervised release, he will undergo sex offender treatment, substance abuse testing and treatment, mental health treatment, and must continue to register as a sex offender. He was also ordered to pay $100 in special assessments.

The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service along with local law enforcement agencies including the Foley Police Department, Mobile Police Department, and Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders and assist victims. More details about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc or for internet safety education at https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources.