Sex Offender Registration

• Author: Mark G. Daniel/Robert K. Gill
• Pages: 347-362

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

§18:40 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

§18:10 Texas Criminal lawyer’s Handbook 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 por-

nography to the list of reportable offenses. More sig-

nificantly, deferred adjudication was included within

the definition of “reportable convictions and adjudi-

cations,” 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 adju-

dication 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 includ-

ed within the meaning of “reportable conviction or

adjudication.” Also, the number of indecent exposure

convictions necessary to trigger the reporting require-

ment was reduced from four to two. The victim’s age

was added as part of the required registration infor-

mation. 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 reg-

istration 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 con-

viction 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 supervi-

sion, juvenile probation or parole. Additional require-

ments 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 resi-

dence 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 com-

mence 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

• The high rate of recidivism among sex

offenders

• The low incidence of rehabilitation among

sex offenders