Bridgeport Resident Pleads Guilty to Violating Federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that GAYRAAN LANIER GAITER, 44, pleaded guilty yesterday in New Haven federal court to failing to register as a sex offender.

The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA") provides a comprehensive set of minimum standards for sex offender registration and notification in the United States and seeks to strengthen the nationwide network of sex offender registration and notification programs. In part, SORNA requires registered sex offenders to register and keep their registration current in each jurisdiction in which they reside, work, or go to school.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2000, Gaiter was convicted in Dade County, Florida, of multiple counts related to the sexual abuse of a minor and was sentenced to 20 years of incarceration. Following his release from prison, Gaiter registered as a sex offender in Galveston County, Texas, in July 2021, and, without notifying Texas authorities, in January 2022 in Lee County, Florida. In December 2025, the U.S. Marshals Service in Connecticut was notified that Gaiter was being sought in both jurisdictions for failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements, and that he was believed to be living in Connecticut. The investigation revealed that Gaiter was residing in Bridgeport and that he failed to register as a sex offender in Connecticut.

Gaiter was arrested on March 18, 2026, and has been detained since his arrest.

The charge of failure to register as a sex offender carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service's District of Connecticut Violent Fugitive Task Force and Southern District of Texas Gulf Coast Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.