Rebo charged with failure to register upon return to Montana

recently returned Montana man faces a felony charge in Lincoln County District Court for failing to register as a sexual or violent offender upon his homecoming.

Dylan M. Rebo, 23, pleaded not guilty to the charge during his Nov. 1 arraignment. He is due back in court on Jan. 3 for an omnibus hearing with a pretrial conference set for Feb. 7. Rebo came to the attention of authorities in Lincoln County over the summer, according to court documents.

Although at one point compliant with registration requirements, authorities suspected he had returned to the area after a short stint in Idaho without informing law enforcement.

As of January 2021, he was registered with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office as a sexual and violent offender after earning convictions for sexual intercourse without consent in 2012 and assault with a weapon in 2018. Also in 2018, Rebo was convicted of failure to register in Flathead County.

Rebo told authorities in June that he planned to move to Idaho and gave them a Sandpoint address. Officials in Lincoln County notified their colleagues in Idaho and removed him from the Montana registry.

But Rebo never registered with Idaho, court documents said. The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation and subsequently learned from Rebo’s former roommate that the 23-year-old had departed for Montana.

Meanwhile, local authorities suspected Rebo had returned to Lincoln County. They knew he was dating a local woman, court documents said. Sometime in late July or early August, a police officer in Libby reported spotting the couple in town.

Libby Police officer Ronald Buckner tracked down and arrested Rebo on Aug. 25. Detective David Hall of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the following day that Rebo was not registered locally or anywhere else, court documents said. Hall wrote in an affidavit that Rebo told another law enforcement officer that he was staying on friends’ couches and living outside.

Failure to register carries a punishment of up to five years with the Montana State Prison and a $10,000 fine. Were the case to go to trial, it would begin March 15.