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S.B. 270 Enrolled

                 

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY

                 
2000 GENERAL SESSION

                 
STATE OF UTAH

                 
Sponsor: Michael G. Waddoups

                  AN ACT RELATING TO THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE; PROVIDING FOR
                  DISCLAIMERS AND WARNINGS TO PUBLIC VIEWERS OF SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
                  INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET; AND CREATING A PRESUMPTION OF GOOD
                  FAITH ON THE PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IN PROVIDING THE
                  INFORMATION.
                  This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
                  AMENDS:
                      77-27-21.5, as last amended by Chapter 392, Laws of Utah 1998
                  Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
                      Section 1. Section 77-27-21.5 is amended to read:
                       77-27-21.5. Sex offender registration -- Information system -- Law enforcement and
                  courts to report -- Registration -- Penalty -- Effect of expungement.
                      (1) As used in this section:
                      (a) "Department" means the Department of Corrections.
                      (b) "Notification" means a person's acquisition of information from the department about
                  a sex offender, including his place of habitation, physical description, and methodology of the
                  offense, and other information as provided in Subsections (10) and (11).
                      (c) "Register" means to comply with the rules of the department made under this section.
                      (d) "Sex offender" means any person convicted by this state or who enters a plea in
                  abeyance for violating Section 76-7-102 , 76-9-702.5 , 76-5a-3 , 76-10-1306 , or 76-5-301.1 or of
                  committing or attempting, soliciting, or conspiring to commit a felony, under Title 76, Chapter 5,
                  Part 4, Sexual Offenses, and any person convicted by any other state or the United States
                  government of an offense which if committed or attempted in this state would be punishable as one
                  or more of these offenses. "Sex offender" also means all persons committed to a state mental
                  hospital by reason of their mental incapacity and their commission or alleged commission of one


                  or more offenses listed in this Subsection (1)(d).
                      (2) The department, to assist in investigating sex-related crimes and in apprehending
                  offenders, shall:
                      (a) develop and operate a system to collect, analyze, maintain, and disseminate information
                  on sex offenders and sex offenses; and
                      (b) make information collected and developed under this section available to the public.
                      (3) Any law enforcement agency shall, in the manner prescribed by the department, inform
                  the department of:
                      (a) the receipt of a report or complaint of an offense listed in Subsection (1)(d), within three
                  working days; and
                      (b) the arrest of a person suspected of any of the offenses listed in Subsection (1)(d), within
                  five working days.
                      (4) Upon convicting a person of any of the offenses listed in Subsection (1)(d), or any lesser
                  included offense, the convicting court shall within three working days forward a copy of the judgment
                  and sentence to the department.
                      (5) A sex offender in the custody of the department shall be registered by agents of the
                  department upon:
                      (a) being placed on probation;
                      (b) commitment to a secure correctional facility operated by or under contract to the
                  department;
                      (c) release from confinement to parole status, termination or expiration of sentence, or
                  escape;
                      (d) entrance to and release from any community-based residential program operated by or
                  under contract to the department; or
                      (e) termination of probation or parole.
                      (6) A sex offender not in the custody of the department who is confined in a correctional
                  facility not operated by or under contract to the department shall, upon release from confinement, be
                  registered with the department by the sheriff of the county in which the offender is confined.

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                      (7) A sex offender confined in a state mental hospital shall be registered with the department
                  by the hospital. A sex offender committed to a state mental hospital shall be registered with the
                  department by the hospital upon admission and upon discharge.
                      (8) A sex offender shall, for ten years after termination of sentence, register annually and again
                  within ten days of every change of his place of habitation.
                      (9) An agency that registers a sex offender on parole shall inform him of his duty to comply
                  with the continuing registration requirements of this section, including:
                      (a) notification to an out-of-state agency of moving across state lines;
                      (b) notification to the state agencies in the states where the registrant presently resides and
                  plans to reside when moving across state lines; and
                      (c) verification of address at least every 60 days pursuant to a parole agreement for lifetime
                  parolees.
                      (10) A sex offender shall provide the department with the following information:
                      (a) all names or aliases the sex offender is or has been known by;
                      (b) the sex offender's name and address;
                      (c) a physical description, including the sex offender's age, height, weight, eye and hair color;
                      (d) the type of vehicle or vehicles the sex offender drives; and
                      (e) a current photograph of the sex offender.
                      (11) The department shall provide the following additional information:
                      (a) the crimes the sex offender was charged with and convicted of;
                      (b) a description of the sex offender's primary and secondary targets; and
                      (c) a description of the sex offender's method of offense.
                      (12) (a) A sex offender who knowingly fails to register under this section is guilty of a class
                  A misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to serve a term of incarceration for not fewer than 90 days and
                  also at least one year of probation.
                      (b) Neither the court nor the Board of Pardons and Parole may release a person who violates
                  this section from serving a term of at least 90 days and of completing probation of at least one year.
                  This Subsection (12)(b) supersedes any other provision of the law contrary to this section.

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                      (13) Notwithstanding Title 63, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management
                  Act, information in Subsections (10) and (11) collected and released under this section is public
                  information.
                      (14) (a) If a sex offender is to be temporarily sent outside a secure facility in which he is
                  confined on any assignment, including, without limitation, firefighting or disaster control, the official
                  who has custody of the offender shall, within a reasonable time prior to removal from the secure
                  facility, notify the local law enforcement agencies where the assignment is to be filled.
                      (b) This Subsection (14) does not apply to any person temporarily released under guard from
                  the institution in which he is confined.
                      (15) Notwithstanding Sections 77-18-9 through 77-18-14 regarding expungement, a person
                  convicted of any offense listed in Subsection (1)(d) is not relieved from the responsibility to register
                  under this section.
                      (16) Notwithstanding Section 42-1-1 , a sex offender may not change his name while under
                  the jurisdiction of the department and until the registration requirements of this statute have expired.
                      (17) The department may make rules necessary to implement this section, including:
                      (a) the method for dissemination of the information; and
                      (b) instructions to the public regarding the use of the information.
                      (18) Any information regarding the identity or location of a victim shall be redacted by the
                  department from information provided under Subsections (10) and (11).
                      (19) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create or impose any duty on any person
                  to request or obtain information regarding any sex offender from the department.
                      (20) If the department chooses to post registry information on the Internet, the website shall
                  contain a disclaimer informing the public of the following:
                      (a) the information contained on the site is obtained from sex offenders and the department
                  does not guarantee its accuracy;
                      (b) members of the public are not allowed to publicize the information or use it to harass or
                  threaten sex offenders or members of their families; and
                      (c) harassment, stalking, or threats against sex offenders or their families are prohibited and

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                  doing so may violate Utah criminal laws.
                      (21) The department shall construct the website so that users, before accessing registry
                  information, must indicate that they have read the disclaimer, understand it, and agree to comply with
                  its terms.
                      (22) The department, its personnel, and any individual or entity acting at the request or upon
                  the direction of the department are immune from civil liability for damages for good faith compliance
                  with this section and will be presumed to have acted in good faith by reporting information.
                      (23) The department shall redact information that, if disclosed, could reasonably identify a
                  victim.
                      (24) The website may also include information about sex offenders ordered to accept
                  notification of their registry information as part of a condition of probation or parole.

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