Man sentenced for failing to register as sex offender

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — Authorities say a New York man who moved to south Mississippi after meeting someone online has been sentenced to prison for failing to register as a sex offender.

The Sun Herald reports Kelly Antwon McKnight, 41, received a prison term of 18 months at his sentencing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.

Chief Judge Louis Guirola Jr. also fined him $2,000 and ordered five years of supervised release.

McKnight was convicted of second-degree rape involving a girl 15 or younger in New York in 2001. Batavia, New York, police arrested him July 6, 2001, on a charge alleging he forced himself on the girl. The New York State Sex Offender Registry shows McKnight was convicted the same year.