A convicted sex offender living in Covington County who served time in the Florida prison system on two counts of lewd or lascivious assault upon a child will now spend time in federal prison for failing to keep authorities apprised of his whereabouts.

Billy Wayne Howard was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison on a felony conviction of failing to register as a sex offender, U.S. Attorney George L. Beck Jr. announced Thursday.

Specifically, Howard, most recently a resident of Covington County, was accused of moving from California into Alabama in 2009 without registering as a sex offender here, according to a statement from Beck’s office.

Howard was sentenced in Florida to more than eight and a half years in prison for the 1996 incidents. He was indicted by a federal grand jury last December for failing to register and update a registration as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. During his guilty plea hearing, Howard admitted he knew he was required to register, but did not, after moving into Alabama in February 2009.

Howard remains in the custody of the U.S. States Marshals Service pending placement by the Bureau of Prisons.

This case was investigated jointly by the Marshals Service, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, Opp Police Department and Covington County Sheriff’s Office.