Manchester Man Pleads Guilty to Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

Manchester Man Pleads Guilty to Failing to Register as a Sex Offender

CONCORD - Christopher Hodgeman of Manchester, 35, pleaded guilty today to one count of failing to register as a sex offender as required by the federal Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA"), U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces. U.S. District Court Judge Steven J. McAuliffe scheduled Hodgeman's sentencing for October 27, 2026.

According to the court documents and statements made in court, SORNA requires individuals convicted of certain sex offenses to register as a sex offender in the state in which they reside or work. Among other things, SORNA requires sex offenders to register their online identifiers such as email addresses and online accounts and usernames. Hodgeman is required to register as a sex offender under SORNA due to his 2021 conviction for possessing child exploitation material (also known as child pornography). In 2024, Hodgeman pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to one count of failure to register in violation of SORNA arising from his failure to register online identifiers he used in direct messaging applications. Beginning at least by December 2025, and continuing through January 2026, Hodgeman used the private direct messaging applications Signal, Zangi, and WhatsApp. For each application he had a unique online identifier. Hodgeman used these applications and online identifiers to exchange sexually explicit messages with multiple different women. Hodgeman knew he was required to register his online identifiers, yet he never reported these online identifiers in his sex offender registration paperwork.

The charge of failure to register carries a sentence of up to 10 years' incarceration, at least 5 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The United States Marshals Service investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Hunter is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.