Someone who has been convicted of a sexually related crime will be required by the court to register as a sex offender or sexual predator. Those crimes can include child pornography, sexual misconduct, lewd or lascivious offenses with a minor, etc. A sexual offender and sexual predator are two different terms, depending on the number of convictions on your record. A sexual predator is typically the more dangerous of the two, having committed and been convicted of at least two 2nd-degree sexual felonies or at least one 1st-degree sexual felony.
The sex offender registry is a public list that displays your name, picture, address, and criminal offense. In some cases, the list will also provide date of birth, weight, and height, among other things. This information is made available to the public on a law enforcement-managed website. All of this information is provided to your local law enforcement when you register, and when required to register, your name remains on that list for life. If you fail to register or re-register when required, you can be charged with a 3rd-degree felony, punishable depending on the number of offenses. If your first offense, is punishable with six months of electronic monitoring by the police; a 2nd offense requires a one-year minimum of electronic monitoring; a 3rd offense requires a 2-year minimum of electronic monitoring.
Being charged and convicted with a sexually related criminal offense is not a situation you want to be in, but being placed on the registry after being released into the community will continue to have long-lasting, harmful effects. It may prove very difficult to find employment, you will have to follow state regulations on the distance you reside from schools and playgrounds, neighbors will be able to discover your crimes on the registry, and you can get in more legal trouble if you fail to update your registration yearly as required. In addition to being placed on the sex offender list, you will also be required to make the local police aware when in their county and to inform them of plans to travel to other Florida counties.
However, there are 5 ways to get removed from the Florida sex offender registry. Those options include the Romeo and Juliet Law, Post-Conviction Relief, 25 Years After, Full Pardon, and Out-of-State Designation Removed.
The Romeo and Juliet Law, under Florida Statute 943.04354, is a special circumstance to be removed from the requirement of registering. Under this law, certain criteria must be met, including the sexual act was consensual, the parties were within a 4-year age range of each other, and the victim was between 13 and 17 years old. This conviction must also be the only charge on the criminal record required for registration.
If a conviction is overturned by the court, you can plead for Post-Conviction Relief. For example, let’s say that you are charged and convicted of sexual molestation of a 15-year-old. You appeal the decision. It is decided that your conviction will be overturned by the court. In that scenario, you may also appeal that you do not need to register for the sex offender list, or you may file a motion for post-conviction relief from the courts.
25 Years After your sentence completion, you can petition to have your name removed from the registry. However, those 25 years include after the prison term and the probation time. Once your full sentence has been completed, you must wait those 25 years until you may petition for the name removal. It is important to note, that the petition can only be filed so long as you have not been arrested after your release.
A Pardon releases a person from guilt and punishment, unconditionally.
Finally, you can get an Out-of-State Designation Removed. If an out-of-state offense requires you to register in the state of Florida, you can request the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review your case and plea for your name to be removed from the Florida registry.
These options are difficult to procure but never impossible. It is imperative that you make the decision to call an attorney who can assist you with your case. Our attorneys at Adams & Luka can answer any questions you may have about your chances or the process for removal.