How Sex Offender Registry Can Affect your Life

All criminal convictions have some type of penalties whether it is paying a fine, performing community service, reporting to a probation officer, or spending time in jail. Sex offenses, however, have an additional and unique collateral consequence that can have a substantial impact on an individual’s life–sex offender registry. In 1996, every state in the U.S. passed a version of Megan’s Law, which requires a state to collect information regarding sexual offenders and publish that information on the Internet. Florida’s primary law regarding sex offender registration is the Florida Sexual Predators Act.

How Registration Works

Generally speaking, following a conviction for certain sexual offenses, the convicted individual must register with the state of Florida and provide certain information. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement then updates the online database of Florida Sexual Offenders and Predators. The registry shows the following information about an individual:

Name and possible aliases Race Date of birth Gender Hair and eye color Height and weight Scars, marks, or tattoos Home address Description of sex offenses Description of the victim (e.g. minor) Whether or not they have absconded (failed to maintain registration)

An offender is expected to regularly update information regarding their address and more to the state or face additional consequences.

Effects of Registering

All of the above information will be available online to anyone with an Internet connection via a simple search. This means that family, friends, potential employers, members of the community, or potential romantic partners will all have the ability to access your profile. As you can imagine, this can have a negative effect on your personal relationships, employment opportunities, and more.

In addition, Florida law places restrictions on where certain registered sex offenders can live. For example, if the victim of the offense was under the age of 16, the offender may not live within a certain proximity of a child care facility, school, playground, or park. This can often be complicated given the number of areas classified as “parks” in Boca Raton alone. However, if an individual violates such a residency restriction, they risk facing additional felony charges for the violation.

If you are under suspicion of a sex offense, the best way to avoid having to register as a sex offender is to avoid conviction. There are many legal defenses available in sex offense cases that can help you avoid wrongful conviction.

Contact an Experienced Boca Raton Criminal Defense Attorney for Help as Soon as Possible

If you have been arrested for or charged with any type of sexual offense, it is highly imperative that you seek the assistance of a qualified and experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Conviction for sex offenses can have a profound and long-lasting effect on your life and you do not want to risk being wrongfully convicted and having to register as a sex offender in your community. At the law office of Lavalle Brown & Ronan in Boca Raton, we provide an aggressive defense for individuals facing charges of sex offenses, so please call our office today at 855-BOCALAW for help.

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