Being a victim of mail theft was not enough of an excuse to get a Flathead felon out of having to serve time for failing to register as a sex offender twice.

Ryan Lee Moskaloff, 39, was sentenced by Flathead District Judge Amy Eddy on Thursday to 10 years with the Montana Department of Corrections, with five years suspended, for failing to register as a sex offender as required by law.

Moskaloff entered an Alford plea earlier this year to two felony “failure to register” charges as part of a plea agreement where a criminal endangerment charge and two counts of attempted deliberate homicide were dismissed. An Alford plea allows a defendant to maintain innocence, but acknowledges that a jury is likely to find him or her guilty at trial. The deliberate homicide charges resulted after witnesses claimed he fired multiple rounds with a shotgun at them from a home in Hungry Horse on Dec. 26, 2014.

Moskaloff’s attorneys have said he had a solid case for self-defense in the matter.

He also had an excuse for not registering as a sex offender, which is required because he was convicted of a sex-related offense when he was 12 years old.

Moskaloff’s mother-in-law Linda Russell took the stand during his sentencing hearing and admitted to taking mail that informed him that he should register.

“I don’t think he would have been charged with that had I not done what I done,” Russell said.

She said she did not realize the consequences that resulted from her actions.

“Him and my daughter were having some problems and my anger got the best of me,” she said.

Moskaloff admitted in a statement to Eddy that some of his life choices had been poor.

“I’ve made some mistakes,” he said.

Eddy noted that a psycho-sexual evaluation and pre-sentence investigation recommended that Moskaloff petition the court to have the requirement to register waived once he successfully discharges his sentence. He has been deemed a low-risk to re-offend and has not committed another sex-related offense since he was 12.

“While Mr. Moskaloff might have a variety of problems, sex is not one of them,” attorney Brent Getty testified.

Eddy acknowledged that dismissing the requirement to register might be a possibility in the future, but only if Moskaloff could stay out of jail.

“No court is going to relieve you of the requirement to register unless you remain law-abiding, which you have been unable to do,” Eddy said.

Eddy said that probation and parole officials wanted Moskaloff to serve five years in Montana State Prison, because they believe he requires a high level of supervision. In addition to the sex charge and failure to register cases, Moskaloff was convicted in 2000 of felony manufacture of dangerous drugs. He was also convicted of felony bail jumping in 2000 and criminal possession of dangerous drugs in 2009.

Moskaloff’s attorney asked that he be sentenced to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections. Edddy’s 10-year sentence, with five years suspended matched the recommendation of state prosecutor Stacy Boman.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.