After a sex-related conviction, the judge can order you to submit your particulars to the sex offender registry. The registry is a public database with the names, physical descriptions, addresses, and other identifying information of all registered sex offenders in a particular region. The public can use the registry to determine if a sex offender lives nearby and take precautions. But most importantly, it keeps the authorities in the know regarding the whereabouts and undertakings of a registered sex offender. Even with its numerous benefits, it can complicate your life as a registered sex offender. For example, it can impact your relationships and employment prospects.

If you are convicted of a sex crime in California, it is important to understand how the sex offender registry functions and how you can improve your situation. The attorneys at the Sex Crimes Attorney have the necessary training and expertise to handle your case. We can support you in fighting the registration requirement or understanding your obligations. We can also defend your rights throughout all court processes associated with your case.

What is a Sex Offender Registry

The Constitution lists sex crimes as the most severe offenses. No one is exempt from these crimes. Victims of these crimes come from all ages, genders, and social classes. People who experience sex crimes go through a terrible journey that profoundly affects the rest of their lives. That explains why even the most minor sex offenses carry hefty punishments under the law. The majority of sexual crimes are felonies, which carry heavy penalties and lengthy jail sentences as punishment. Additionally, participation in the sex offender registry is a legal mandate for those who commit certain sex offenses and crimes with sexual motivation.

The sex offender registry maintains track of all sex offenders, even those who have previously fulfilled their terms. It enables government authorities to keep track of the numerous activities sex offenders engage in while they remain on the registry. Remember that depending on the seriousness of their crimes, some offenders must register for ten years, some for twenty years, and others for life. The offender's name, address, and brief physical description are all included on the registry. If their names or addresses change, they must update these facts.

Registered sex offenders are also subject to additional limitations that can impact their lives if their names are on the registry. For example, they are constrained by finding a place to live and work. It is against the law for sexual offenders to interact with or reside near children. It implies you are not permitted to dwell near a school, childcare facility, park, or other places where kids congregate. Internet access is prohibited for some sex offenders.

If you are facing a sex-related conviction that requires registering on a sex offender registry, it helps to deal with a tenacious sex crimes attorney. Your lawyer can fight to ensure that the system works in your favor and that you receive a just outcome for your case.

Sex Offender Registration Duties

Convicted sex offenders of particular sex offenses must legally register in the sex offender registry. Before this law's change, convicted sex offenders provided their information to the registry for life. But since SB 384 became law, a lot changed. Depending on the seriousness of their actions, different sex offenders have additional registration requirements. Some criminals must register for at least ten years, but others must do so for a lifetime. In this context, registration refers to providing the police with your information so they always know where you work, reside, or attend school.

The three tiers of the registration system are the most significant modification to the sex offender registry law brought about by SB 384:

  • Tier one has a minimum registration time of ten years and five years for low-level offenders.
  • Tier two is for middle-level offenders and has a 20-year registration requirement.
  • The mandatory registration period for Tier 3 offenders, the most dangerous sexual offenders, is a lifetime.

Tier One Registration

You must register with the police for at least ten years under this system or five years for minor sex offenders. The following offenses are subject to this registration requirement:

  • Under PC 243.4, misdemeanor sexual battery.
  • Felony sexual battery, or when you touch someone against their will for sexual enjoyment, arousal, or abuse in a medical facility or on someone who is medically incapacitated or significantly disabled.
  • PC 266c: luring a juvenile into a prostitution establishment.
  • PC 266: fraudulently inducing sex.
  • Misdemeanor sodomy against a minor or an adult or in violation of PC 286.
  • Sodomy as a felony under PC 286.
  • Misdemeanor oral copulation, under PC 287.
  • Felony oral copulation.
  • Organizing a meeting with a child for sexual motives, a misdemeanor violation of PC 288.4.
  • Sexual penetration using a foreign object, a felony or misdemeanor offense under PC 289.
  • Misdemeanor child pornography, under PC 311.1 or 311.11.
  • Indecent exposure under PC 314.
  • Annoying a minor in violation of PC 647.6 if it is your first offense.

Note: In some situations, judges have the absolute power to order registration for convicted sex offenders. For example, in sex crimes involving minors where the alleged victim is fourteen years of age or younger and ten years or less younger than the offender, the judge can decide not to compel registration.

Tier Two

You must register under this system for at least twenty years, or ten years in the case of juvenile offenders. According to this system, crimes include:

  • Incest as under PC 285.
  • Rape under PC 261 if the alleged victim is an adult but unable to consent because of a physical or developmental impairment or a mental illness.
  • Sodomy under PC 286 is committed if the victim cannot give permission owing to a physical impairment, developmental delay, or mental illness.
  • Sodomy, when perpetrated against a child under 14 and younger than the offender by more than ten years.
  • Lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 as prohibited under PC 288.
  • Oral copulation under PC 287 if the victim cannot permit it because of a physical handicap, developmental delay, or mental illness.
  • Oral sex with a child under 14 who is more than ten years younger than the perpetrator.
  • Contact with a minor in the commission of a felony under PC 288.3 if the intention is to violate PC 286(b), PC 287(b), PC 289(h), or PC 289(i).
  • A violation of PC 289 against a person unable to agree because of a physical impairment, developmental delay, or mental illness.
  • When sexual penetration using a foreign object is carried out while the alleged victim or another person is threatened with reprisal.
  • Annoying a child under PC 647.6 if it is a second offense.

Tier 3

The severe sex crimes covered by the Tier Three registration system include:

  • Murder under PC 187 if committed while committing rape or coercive sexual conduct, like sodomy or lewd acts.
  • Kidnapping under PC 207 or PC 209 if it occurs during a rape or other forcible sexual conduct, like sodomy and indecent acts.
  • Assault under PC 220 when committed in the commission of a different felony, but not when executed in the commission of mayhem.
  • When you breach sections b and c of the PC 236.1 and commit the crime of sex trafficking of minors.
  • A felony under PC 243.4, a sexual battery offense.
  • Most rape offenses under PC 261.
  • Forceful spousal rape under PC 262.
  • Assisting in or encouraging rape or other acts involving sexual penetration using an object, as under PC 264.1.
  • When done in violation of PC 266h(b) or PC 266i(b), pandering and pimping a child.
  • Delivering or supplying a juvenile under sixteen for lewd purposes in violation of PC 266j.
  • Transporting or delivering a child for prostitution under PC 267.
  • Under PC 269, serious sexual assault on a child.
  • Lascivious or obscene behavior that contributes to a minor's delinquency, as under PC 272.
  • Sodomy, if the act is committed jointly with another person or if the alleged victim is asleep or intoxicated and unable to consent.
  • Sodomy through force.
  • Lascivious acts with a child under 14 if the perpetrator faces two convictions for two different offenses.
  • Lascivious acts with a child under 14 if the alleged victim is under 14 and the alleged victim is ten years younger than the perpetrator, or the offender is the victim's caregiver, and the victim depends on them, and the offense is accomplished through force.
  • Forced oral copulation under Penal Code 287.
  • Oral copulation it if happens when the criminal collaborates with another person or if the alleged victim is incapable of giving consent because they are drunk or unconscious.
  • Under PC 288.2, showing or sending sexually explicit material to a child.
  • A felony under PC 288.3, arranging a meeting with a child for sexual purposes.
  • A felony under PC 288.5 for the continuous sexual abuse of a minor.
  • A felony under PC 288.7, sexual acts against children younger than ten.

Note: Not all offenses that call for registration in the sex offender registry are included on this list.

Keep in mind that courts can, at their discretion, force convicted sex offenders to register for any sex offense if they find that the offender acted under the influence of their sexual arousal or to gratify their sexual desires.

In most cases, especially for registrants under the first and second tiers, your information will not be automatically removed from the registry. Once you fulfill all registration obligations the judge imposed following your conviction, you must file a petition with the court to have your registration time terminated. However, the judge can reject your request, and the district attorney can contest it. You must consult with your defense attorney to increase your chances of winning.

The Duties of a Sex Offender Registrant

As a convicted sex offender, you have obligations and requirements under PC 290. According to the legislation, you must physically register your name and primary physical address with the police department in your area five days before or after:

  • Your probation, if the judge has not given you a jail or prison sentence.
  • Your release from incarceration.
  • Your release from a mental institution or treatment facility.

That should be determined by when you are initially released to the community following your conviction. The court will immediately notify the DoJ of the judge's order to register so that it can closely monitor your compliance. Every year, five days before or after their birthday, the law generally requires all convicted sex offenders to update their details in the registry. Additionally, the following elements will have an impact on your registration obligation:

  • If you have changed your address.
  • If you are or become a transient.
  • If the judge rules you as a sexually violent offender.
  • If you work for or are enrolled at a university or college in California.

Let us discuss these reporting requirements further:

Registration Requirements After Moving

When registering for the sex offender registry, your physical address is crucial. It makes it easy for law enforcement to find you and monitor your activities. Therefore, you must physically notify the police of any change of residence as soon as you move. You must do this five days before or after the move. If you have multiple physical addresses, you must register all your addresses.

You must provide the details to the police department in every city where your several primary addresses are located. If you relocate to another state, the new state can compel you to continue registering with the sex offender registry. It is wise to learn what the regulations in that new state demand so that you can continue to be compliant.

If you are registered in the sex offender registry in your state but attend school or work in California, you must continue to do so with the police department in the region where you attend school or work.

Registration Requirements for Transients

Transients are people who temporarily reside in California without a fixed address. If you have never spent more than five days in one place since the court ordered you to register, once every thirty days at the least, you should file with the police department in the area where you are present. After receiving the court order, you have five days to report your whereabouts to the local police. You can meet your PC 290 registration requirement in this manner.

You must also let the police know if you are available in:

  • A college in California.
  • A university, or
  • Any other public facility.

If you relocate, notify the local police of your new physical address within five working days. If you resume being a transient after that, you must inform the police within five business days.

You must, in person, notify the local police of the area where you will be physically present and if you intend to leave California five days before or after the relocation if you move to another state. You owe it to the police to inform them if and when you have other relocation plans and intend to return to California.

Registration Requirements for Sexually Violent Predators

You must update your details on the sex offender registry every ninety days if the judge labels you a sexually violent offender. Some of the characteristics of a sexual predator include the following:

  • You were guilty of a sexually violent offense.
  • You have a major mental illness, which makes you a danger to the public.

Registration Requirement for Those Employed or Enrolled in a College in California

You must comply with all the initial registration requirements given to all sex-related offenders following conviction if you are an employee or student at California College and University. You must also meet the following conditions:

  • If the institution has campus police, ensure you provide them with your identity five days before or after applying for a job or enrolling in school.
  • Five days before or after leaving the college, inform the campus police of your move or intentions to leave.

You must report to the local police that patrol where your college is located if you attend a school without campus police. Remember to complete this after meeting all other PC 290 registration criteria.

Specific Requirements for Employees

All workers, whether volunteers, part-time workers, or full-time employees, are governed by the sex offender registration statute's various requirements:

  • You have five days to notify the local police if your details, like your name, change.
  • You should register in the sex offender registry as if you are guilty of a sex crime if you faced sex-related charges, but the jury declared you not guilty due to insanity.

Registration Requirements for Those Supervising or Working With Minors

If you plan to volunteer or look for employment that entails working directly with youngsters, you should declare your status as a registered sex offender to the organization or company when applying for the position or before accepting a job.

You are banned from accepting or applying for a job where you will be directly supervising or dealing with minors if your conviction includes a victim who was under the age of 16.

If you work as a teacher or support staff at a school and the police arrest you for a sex crime that entails registration, the police will promptly inform your employer of your arrest and that requirement.

Removal From a Sex Offender Registry

A registered sex offender must submit an application for removal from a sex offenders list. Removal does not happen automatically. However, it all depends on which sex crime the court finds you guilty of. You have a few options if you want to remove your personal information from the registry.

Applying for Expungement

Your first choice would be to ask the court to expunge your sex-crime record once you have completed probation and other sentencing requirements. A criminal conviction must be expunged from a person's criminal record to obliterate all associated consequences and limitations. However, expungement does not make registration unnecessary. It only erases the conviction from your record, giving the impression that you were never detained or accused. Serious sex offenses, including sodomy of minors, lewd conduct with a youngster under 15, and continuous child sexual abuse, are ineligible for expungement.

Obtaining a Certificate of Rehabilitation

A certificate of rehabilitation, as opposed to expungement, can exempt you from the requirement to sign up for the sex offender registry. You can apply for this certificate 7 to 10 years after your release from jail, upon completion of probation, or following parole. But you have to adhere to these prerequisites:

  • You must have been successful in your record-expungement application.
  • After your case dismissal, you cannot be serving time for a different crime.
  • You cannot be on probation for a separate offense.
  • You must demonstrate you have resided in the state for a minimum of five years before the application.

Governor’s Pardon

A governor's pardon is the most incredible option for people who want their information removed from the registry. Even if a registered sex offender has received a sentence for a serious sex crime, a state governor can release them of their registration obligation. You can directly ask for a governor's pardon if you cannot obtain a certificate of rehabilitation. However, you must have been out of trouble since being released from probation, parole, or incarceration for a minimum of ten years.

Find a Skilled Sex Crimes Attorney Near Me

In California, sex crimes attract severe penalties. Most sex crimes require registering on a sex offender registry in addition to harsh prison sentences and hefty fines. Even after you have completed your time and entirely changed your life, that requirement can still affect you for many years. If you face a sex crime conviction in California, it helps to understand how sex offender registration functions, its legal ramifications, and how to remove your information from the registry.

At Sex Crimes Attorney, we can assist you with that and ease the burdensome legal process for you or a loved one. Additionally, we will battle for the best result in your case. To find out more about our services and your legal alternatives, contact us at 888-666-8480.