Since 1996, the provisions of Megan's Law have allowed the public to search the state of California's vast sex offender database. Prior to the law, people had to call a toll number or visit a police or sheriff's station to find out whether a sex offender lives nearby. All states have some form of Megan's Law enacted.
The online database is compiled by the Sex Offender Tracking Program. All convicted sex offenders are required to register with the program, and are notified of the requirement before they are released from prison, a mental health institution, or go on probation. Failure to adhere to sex offender registration requirements carries hefty consequences that align with the severity of the crime. For someone who was convicted of a felony, failure to register is a felony. For those who were convicted of a misdemeanor, the first failure to register is a misdemeanor, but subsequent failures are felonies.
Once registered, an offender must update his or her information, including place of residence, yearly and within five days of his or her birthday. The most violent offenders are required to update every 90 days and homeless offenders every month.
California divides sex offenders into four categories: home address, conditional home address, zip code, and undisclosed. Certain sex crimes require offenders to register their full address, but some only require the disclosure of the offender's zip code. Only the information of the sex offenders in the first three categories can be accessed on the Internet. Offenders in the undisclosed category are exempt from the online database, although they are still required to register with local law enforcement agencies. Offenders may apply for exclusion from the online database if their crimes meet certain criteria.
If you have questions about registration requirements under Megan's Law, please contact the advice of an experienced criminal defense attorney.
