Failure to Register
If you have been convicted of a sexual crime, particularly one involving a child, your freedom is contingent upon registering as a sex offender. Your information must be verified regularly, possibly ranging from every 90 days to every few years, depending on state regulations and the severity of your criminal record. Many times, the terms of a registration may lapse or nullify without you knowing it.
Speak with a Criminal Defense Lawyer
If you are suspected or have been charged with failure to register, your continued freedom may be at stake. You should consider speaking with a criminal defense attorney about your case and how the laws in your state apply to you. Fill out the free, no-obligation form to connect with a local criminal lawyer today to get the answers and advice you're looking for.
Failure to Register Defined
In nearly all convictions of crimes of a sexual nature, the offender will need to register as a sex offender. The terms often involve updating your address whenever you move, appearing before a judge on a regular schedule, and restricting where you can live and work. If you are a registered sex offender, you may be obligated to:
- Limit your interaction with children, including family;
- Inform neighbors of your status;
- Pay a monthly fee; and
- Inform the courts of a change of address or employment.
Depending up on the individual terms of release, sex offenders may have to be listed in a publicly accessible registry for a length of time of 10 years, or for their entire lives.
Failure to register typically applies to when you do not reaffirm your status as scheduled, or do not inform the courts of any new circumstances in your living or working arrangements.
Failure to register is in itself a crime, and may be charged along with violations in probation or parole for an original conviction. In these circumstances, the courts may hand down a sentence that includes serving the remainder of an original sentence.
Sentencing in Failure to Register Cases
As noted above, a conviction of failure to register as a sex offender may result in penalties such as serving the remainder of an original conviction, as well as an extended sentence for the crime in question. At the minimum, most first offenses may include:
- A fine;
- More stringent terms of release;
- Jail time; or
- Electronic monitoring.
Fighting Failure to Register Charges
When you've already been convicted of a sex crime, a failure to register charge can be detrimental to your rehabilitation into society. A local criminal defense attorney can explain your state's laws and may be able to plead your case to the courts, find evidence that your ability to register was infringed upon and may help secure your freedom.
Total Criminal Defense can help you find a local criminal lawyer. Call at 877-445-1059 or fill out a free online evaluation form to connect with a lawyer near you.
The above summary of failure to register penalties is by no means
all-inclusive and is not intended to serve as legal advice. Laws may
have changed since our last update. For the latest information on child
support laws, speak to a local criminal defense lawyer in your state.