MINNEAPOLIS CRIMINAL SEXUAL CONDUCT LAWYER
Sex crimes are perhaps one of the most serious crimes you can commit. You can serve your time for a violent assault and live the rest of your life with surprisingly minimal consequences for your violent behavior. However, a sex crime conviction comes with punishments that just keep on punishing. One of the most severe consequences of a sex crime is having to register as a sex offender. While this may seem like your name harmlessly stored in a database, it will change your life.
WHAT CRIMES REQUIRE REGISTRATION AS A SEX OFFENDER?
Not all crimes of a sexual nature require going on the registry. Prostitution, for example, doesn’t require registry unless the prostitute was a minor. However, there is a long list a sexually motivated crimes that do require registration. Although some of these crimes only require registration for a certain length of time and not for a lifetime.
Crimes that require sex offender registration include:
- Child Pornography
- Solicitation or Performance of a Minor for Sex (including on the internet)
- Kidnapping
- Criminal Sexual Conduct (or rape/sexual assault as it is more commonly known)
- Indecent Exposure on a Felony level (exposure to a minor or while restricting someone’s movement)
If any of the above were committed against children or will be prosecuted on a federal level, it is likely you will face a lifetime registry. However, other sexual offenses will only require registry for a temporary amount of time, though for at least 10 years minimum.
RESTRICTIONS WHILE ON THE REGISTRY
Once you have completed your prison sentence, it is time for you to place yourself on the registry if you are required by the courts. Once this happens, your life will be different. It will be full of restrictions and likely poor treatment, including:
- Housing Restriction – The sex offender registry comes with restrictions on where you can live. You cannot live within certain distances of anywhere that children gather such as parks, schools, or daycare. If you live in a city, this can be a particular challenge. Furthermore, if your landlord runs a background check, they are within their rights to decline your application.
- Employment Restrictions – A sex offender is also restricted in where they can work. Obviously schools or forbidden, but also salons, clothing stores, and spas. You also cannot be in a profession that gives you authority over another, such as a doctor.
- Privacy Restrictions – A person placed on the registry will soon learn that their lives are private no longer. Their address, vehicle, place of employment, and even their picture is published on the database for everyone to see. Due to the huge stigma against sex offenders, it can lead to harassment and wild prejudice.
- Custody Restrictions – If you have children and are forced to register, if your spouse chooses to file for divorce, they can use your sex crime conviction to remove your custody rights. Particularly if you were charged with crimes against children, the courts may be quick to remove all legal rights to see your children.
STAYING OFF THE REGISTRY
Most obviously, the best way to stay off the sex offender’s registry is to not commit an applicable sex crime. However, life doesn’t always work out like that. The good news is that if you have committed a sex crime, you only have to go on the registry if you are convicted of it. An arrest is not enough; they need a criminal conviction that proves you actually did the crime.
If you have been arrested for any sex crime, it is a serious affair and needs to be taken seriously. Life on the sex offender’s registry is not typically a happy life. However, it can all be avoided if you choose the right criminal defense attorney to help you. If you need representation, contact us today to see what the Speas Law Firm can do for you.