Sex Offender Registration

Although California sex crimes can subject the accused to lengthy prison sentences and heavy fines, perhaps the most brutal penalty (because of its social stigma) that such an individual faces is registration as a sex offender, pursuant to Penal Code 290. California Penal Code 290 provides that an individual who is required to register as a sex offender does so for the rest of his or her life while residing, working or going to school in this state. Upon registration, he or she must pay $300 for a first conviction and $500 upon a second or subsequent conviction, to the Department of Justice in addition to any fines imposed in the current case.

The sex offenses that require registration include spousal rape when accomplished or attempted using force, violence or threats, most instances of rape, rape or sexual penetration when acting in concert with another, pimping and pandering with a minor, enticing a female unmarried minor into prostitution, procuring a child under 16 years of age for lewd or lascivious acts, committing a sex act where consent was procured by fear and false representations, aggravated sexual assault of a child, abducting a minor for prostitution, incest, lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, continuous sexual abuse of a child, sodomy, oral copulation, penetration with a foreign object, indecent exposure, certain crimes dealing with obscene materials, using harmful matter to seduce a minor, and conduct involving lewd or lascivious acts that fall under “contributing to the delinquency of a minor”.

The accused must personally register his or her primary address (or addresses if the accused has more than one address where he or she regularly resides) with his or her local law enforcement agency within 5 days of the requirement. A student or employee of a college or any other institution of higher learning must meet that same requirement and must also register with the campus police department (if there is one) within 5 days of the requirement, within 5 days of commencing enrollment or employment at such an institution, and within 5 days of leaving such an institution. All individuals are also required to update their information yearly, within 5 days of their birthday. An individual labeled a “sexually violent predator” (that is, one who has committed a sex offense by means of force, violence, duress or threats, and who has been diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes the accused a danger to the health and safety of others) is required to update his or her information every 90 days. The registering agency then passes the information along to the Department of Justice Violent Crime Information Network. People who live out-of-state but work in California must register in the same manner if they are registered sex offenders in the state in which they live. Changes of address or name changes must be reported within 5 days to one’s local agency as well. In addition, if an individual who has registered as a sex offender in California moves, he or she may further be required to register in any other state where he or she relocates. Failure to follow any of these requirements within the specified timeframe will be penalized with an additional criminal charge of either a misdemeanor or felony, depending on how the original charge was filed, punishable by up to one year in the county jail and fines up to $1,000 for a misdemeanor, or by 16 months or two or three years in state prison for a felony.

The consequences of registering as a sex offender are life changing. When charged with a California sex crime, it is critical that the accused hires a criminal defense lawyer who specializes in this unique area of the law in order to defend against this severe penalty. The exceptional criminal attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm have mastered California sex crime defense and have successfully defended countless individuals, treating each with compassion and respect. For an unparalleled defense, contact them at one of their Los Angeles or other California law offices today for a free consultation.