Sex Offender Registration

AuthorMark G. Daniel/Robert K. Gill
Pages377-394
18-1
Chapter 18
Sex Offender Registration
Table of Contents
§18:10 General Points
§18:11 History of Sex Offender Registration Program
§18:12 Legislative Intent
§18:13 Constitutional Attacks on Sex Offender Registration
§18:14 Plea Admonishments
§18:15 Sex Offender Registration Website
§18:20 Registration Procedure
§18:21 Who Is Required to Register
§18:22 Form: Verification Requirements Chart
§18:23 Form: Pre-Release Notification Form
§18:24 Information Required for Registration
§18:25 Form: Sex Offender Registration CR-35
§18:26 Form: Institution of Higher Education Registration Form
§18:27 Required Registrant Information Update and Verification
§18:28 Form: Sex Offender Update Form
§18:29 Form: Registration Change of Address Notification
§18:30 Failure to Register
§18:31 Jury Unanimity in Failure to Register Cases
§18:32 Enhancing Failure To Register Offenses
§18:40 Expiration or Exemption From Registration
§18:41 Expiration of Duty to Register
§18:42 Petition for Exemption From Registration Requirements
§18:42.1 Statutory Law
§18:42.2 Who Can Petition
§18:50 Sexually Violent Predators
§18:10 TCL’H 18-2
§18:10 General Points
§18:11 History of Sex Offender
Registration Program
The Texas version of a sex offender registration
program was first enacted effective September 1,
1991. The original duty to register as a sex offender
applied only to those with a “reportable conviction or
adjudication,” which meant only convictions for:
Indecency with a child
Sexual assault
Aggravated sexual assault
• Incest
Fourth violation for indecent exposure
Persons on deferred adjudication for any of the
listed offenses were originally not included in the sex
offender registration program.
Courts and prison officials were mandated to
inform those placed on probation or released from
prison that they had a duty to register, and to require
them to sign a statement that they were so informed.
Furthermore, the registration duty for those with
reportable convictions ended upon the discharge of
probation or parole.
In 1993, the Legislature added sexual performance
with child and possession or promotion of child
pornography to the list of reportable offenses. More
significantly, deferred adjudication was included
within the definition of “reportable convictions and
adjudications,” but applied only to those cases for
which an order of deferred adjudication was entered
on or after September 1, 1993.
The program was amended again in 1995 with
the passage of two Bills, Senate Bill 267 and House
Bill 1379. House Bill 1379 changed the period of
time for registration to the tenth (10th) anniversary
of the date of discharge from probation, parole or
deferred adjudication for all sexual offenders with
the exception of those whose reportable convictions
were for:
Indecency with a child by contact
Sexual performance of a child
Aggravated sexual assault
Two other offenses, aggravated kidnapping
with intent to sexually abuse and burglary within
intent to sexually abuse, and the inchoate offenses
were included within the meaning of “reportable
conviction or adjudication.” Also, the number of
indecent exposure convictions necessary to trigger
the reporting requirement was reduced from four
to two. The victim’s age was added as part of the
required registration information. However, these
amendments applied only to reportable convictions
or adjudications occurring on or after September
1, 1995. A reportable conviction or adjudication
occurring before September 1, 1995 was governed
by the prior law that extinguished the duty to register
upon discharge from parole or probation.
In 1997, further revisions were made to the sex
offender registration program. The sex offender
registration statute was re-codified in Chapter 62 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure. The applicability
of the statute also was expanded in 1997 to include
any conviction or adjudication occurring on or after
September 1, 1970, if the offender has not been
released from prison or is still on any form of
community supervision, juvenile probation or parole.
Additional requirements emerged from the 1997
legislative amendments to the sex offender registration
statute as follows:
A sex offender must verify registration
with law enforcement at his intended
residence within seven (7) days
If the sex offender does not arrive at
the anticipated residence within seven
(7) days, he must report back to prison
authorities or the community supervision
department, at which time he would
commence weekly reporting
Any time the offender is going to be at any
location for more than seven (7) days, he
must register with local law enforcement
authorities
In the event the offender moves to another
state, he must register under that state’s
sex offender statute within ten (10) days
of arrival in that state
PRACTICE TIP: When defending a
defendant charged with a violation of the
sex offender registration statutes, check the
original statute and subsequent amendments
to verify whether the statutes apply to the
defendant based on the time the original
offense was committed. The many changes
made to the statutes over the last several
legislatures may have left some gaps.
§18:12 Legislative Intent
In enacting the current registration and notification
program, the Legislature considered the following:
The unique threat sex offenders present to
public safety

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