Until July 27, 2009, here are the differences between juvenile and adult sex offender registration:
1. Any type of juvenile adjudication can be prevented from registration.
Whereas most adult offenses preclude any ability to exempt registration, any juvenile adjudication for any sex offense is eligible for exemption - even offenses that would be considered sexually violent offenses had the respondent been over 17. Furthermore, as compared to juvenile adjudications, the limited exemption for certain young adult sex offenders under Article 62.301 also requires proof of consensual sexual contact and that the defendant was younger than 19 and the victim was at least 13.
2. Juvenile Sex Offender Registration can be deferred while the respondent receives treatment.
While the adult sex offender registration requirements begin upon release on probation or parole, juvenile registration can be deferred while the child receives treatment on probation, at a Residential Treatment Center, or at TYC.
3. Registration can be non public.
Even if a juvenile is required to register as a sex offender, the court can order that the registration information is kept off the Internet and made non-public.
4. Juvenile Sex offender registration can be retroactively exempted for any type of adjudication.
Thankfully, juvenile courts have been allowed to use their own discretion in the un-registration and de-registration process. When compared to the juvenile court’s power to retroactively exempt registration, the trial court maintains discretion. In the adult system, it appears that the Council has the most significant power at this point unless a District Court judge uses his or her own discretion in using a currently available risk assessment and then approving early termination of registration.
5. There are no limits to the number of adjudications in order to be exempt from registration
In order to qualify for exemption as a young adult sex offender under Article 62.301, a person can only have a single reportable conviction or adjudication. There is no similar restriction for juveniles.
6. Registration expires 10 years after disposition is completed.
While most sex offenses in the adult system impose a lifetime registration requirement, there is more or less a twenty-year cap on juvenile sex offender registration. The duty to register ends on the tenth anniversary of the date of disposition or when the respondent completes the terms of the disposition, whichever date is later. Unless the respondent is on a10-year determinate sentence probation, his duty to register will usually expire before his 30th birthday. |
