LAKE COUNTY – The prosecution of sex offenders in Lake County remains a top priority for the District Attorney’s Office, with prosecutors netting another conviction on a sex-related case.

On Nov. 7, Judge Stephen Hedstrom sentenced Daniel Reneker, age 65, to six years in state prison for failing to register as a sex offender, according to a report from Deputy District Attorney John DeChaine.

Reneker is required to register pursuant to penal code section 290 as a result of two prior sex offenses, DeChaine said.

In 1985, Reneker was convicted of committing a lewd or lascivious act on a child under the age of 14 in Solano County, according to DeChaine. In 1995, Reneker was convicted of sexual battery in Yolo County. Both prior convictions were felony convictions but only the 1985 conviction qualifies as a strike in California.

Reneker last registered as a sex offender in Vallejo, California in April 2006, said DeChaine. Local authorities were not aware that Reneker was residing in Lake County until this past January, when Reneker was discovered living in Lower Lake.

State law requires that certain convicted sex offenders, including Reneker, register within five working days of changing residences, DeChaine reported. The investigation, which was conducted by Det. Mike Curran of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, yielded information that Reneker had been residing in Lake County for at least two months prior to his arrest on Feb. 1.

DeChaine said the District Attorney's Office filed the complaint against Reneker on Feb. 5.

Reneker pleaded guilty on May 4 to one felony count of failing to register as a sex offender, in violation of Penal Code section 290(a)(1)(A) and the District Attorney’s Office required that he admit that he had suffered a prior strike conviction, DeChaine said.

The court sentenced Reneker to the upper term of three years in prison for failing to register, according to DeChaine.

However, because Reneker was required to admit the prior strike conviction, DeChaine said Reneker's prison sentence of three years was enhanced to a total of six years.

The admission of the prior strike conviction also mandates that Reneker will not be eligible for parole until he serves at least 80 percent of his prison commitment, DeChaine reported. Had Reneker not been required to admit his prior strike conviction, he would have been eligible for parole after serving only 50 percent of his time.

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