If you have been accused of a sex crime in California and convicted of the following offenses, you are subject to Penal Code (PC) 290 sex registration. Most acts involving rape (PC 261), sexual battery (PC 23.4), acts involving minors, such as lewd acts with a minor (PC 288), child pornography (PC 311), contributing to the delinquency of a minor (PC 272), incest (PC 285), forced acts involving PC 288a oral copulation, sodomy (PC 286), indecent exposure (PC 314). This is not an exhaustive list and a prosecutor and/or a judge could order sex registration even if it is not statutorily required.
Duties to register must be strictly complied with since failure to do so, could be charged as a felony crime. PC 290 requires the defendant to personally register your primary address with your local law enforcement agency within five working days of your sentence (if no jail/prison is imposed); release from custody, or discharge from a hospital or a mental institution.
Once you are required to register, the court notifies the California Department of Justice who then monitors your reporting compliance. In general, the defendant must annually update their information within five working days of their birthday. Other reporting requirements depend on whether the defendant moves, a transient, judge declares you a sexually violent predator or enrolled at or employed by a California colleges or universities.
Anytime a defendant moves, you are required to personally report your new information to the local law enforcement agency within five working days of the move. If you have more than one residence, you must report each of your addresses. If the defendant moves outside of California, the new home state may have additional requirements in accordance with their state laws.
If you do not have a permanent residence (a transient), the defendant must report the area in which you are physically present at least once every thirty days. If the individual does not remain in one location for a period of five days, you must report to the agency, in which you are physically present on the fifth working day following your order to register. If you are physically present on a California college or university or in any of their facilities, the defendant must report also to the campus police.
If the judge deems you to be a sexually violent predator, the defendant must update his/her information every ninety days. A “sexually violent predator” is an individual who has been convicted of a violent sexual offense and who has a diagnosed mental disorder rendering him/her a threat to the community.
If the defendant is enrolled at or employed by a California college must fulfill additional requirements such as registering with the campus police within five working days of enrollment or employment and within five working days of leaving the institution. If there is no campus police department, the defendant must register with the local law enforcement agency that patrols the area in which the campus is located. This applies to all employees, whether full or part-time and whether the position is paid or not.
Additional requirements are if you change your name, the defendant must report the information to the local law enforcement agency within five working days of the change. Regarding working with or supervising children. If you are a registered sex offender, the individual must disclose the sex offender status to the group, organization, or employer at the time of application or acceptance of the position. If the offense that the defendant was convicted of involved a minor under sixteen, the defendant is prohibited from applying for or accepting any position involving working with or supervising children.
If the defendant is employed by a public or private school, regardless of whether you are a teacher or not, an arrest of an offense listed under PC 290, requires the arresting officer to notify the employer immediately notwithstanding whether the individual is or not convicted at a later time.
Next week: More about California’s Megan’s Law and Obtaining Relief from Sex Registration. Any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected] or visit my website at atty.castaneda.com