People who have been convicted of a sex related offenses in Georgia are often required to be on the sex offender registry. The sex offender registry in Georgia is a publically accessible list that shows the convicted person’s photo, name and address as well as listing the offense for which the person was convicted.
Convicted sex offenders are required to register once a year, in person, with the sheriff’s office. The convicted person must also update the sheriff immediately if their address changes. They must abide by restrictions on where they can live and are prohibited from living too close to certain area when children congregate such as schools, playgrounds and bus stops. Violations of these requirements can result in a new felony charge.
There have been several constitutional challenges to the restrictive nature of the sex offender registry in Georgia throughout the years, resulting in changes to the law. For example, offenders are now required to be given the option of listing their address as “homeless”. A person listing their address as homeless can still be considered compliant with the requirements of the sex offender registry, but they have to provide additional information about where they can be found at certain times of the day.
Inclusion on the sex offender registry in Georgia is automatically required for certain felony offenses such as child molestation and rape. It can a also be required of other less obvious offenses if the language of the indictment includes descriptions of acts that are sexual in nature. Misdemeanor offense do not trigger sex offender registry in Georgia.
People who move from outside of the state of Georgia who have been convicted of a sexual offense are required to register under Georgia’s sex offender registry. Quite often, the requirements of Georgia’s sex offender registry can be different or even more restrictive than the requirements of another state. It is a good idea to contact a Decatur criminal lawyer if you are a convicted sex offender who has questions about the sex offender registry because the consequences of non-compliance are severe and can include an additional felony conviction and prison time.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Andrew R. Lynch, P.C. for their insight into criminal charges.