Are You Facing Registration as a Sex Offender?

There are many crimes in Illinois for which if you are convicted (or found not guilty due to insanity), you are required to be a registered sex offender for a minimum period of ten years.  This is a serious punishment, and if you are facing such a penalty, you need quality legal representation to protect you and advocate for your legal rights.

What You Need to Know

Crimes that may require future registration as a sex offender range from rape and murder of a child to indecent exposure (public indecency). Public indecency is obviously not punished as seriously as a violent sexual assault, yet the sex offender registry does not make any distinctions. Therefore, a person could theoretically be charged with public indecency for urinating in public, or charged with false imprisonment for improperly detaining a juvenile for suspected shoplifting, and could still be facing inclusion on the same sex offender registry as someone found guilty of rape and murder.

How Long Must You Remain a Registered Sex Offender?

A sex offender must register in person, every year, for ten years. The ten-year registration period begins upon conviction, if you are sentenced to probation. If you are sent to prison, either in Illinois, another state, or in federal prison, you must also register on the sex offender registry annually for ten years, beginning from final parole, discharge, or release. There are certain conditions under which you must register every ninety days.

If you are found to be Sexually Dangerous or Sexually Violent by a court, you have to re-register every 90 days for the rest of your life. If you are convicted of first-degree murder or if you are classified as a sexual predator, then you will have to register on the sex offender registry every year for life. Your information will appear on the public website (your name, address, and crime you were convicted of) for the entirety of the registration period.

Pitfalls You May Face

If you are found non-compliant with the registration requirements, you may have to register every 90 days for the duration of your registration period, so it is important to follow the registration rules to the letter. You become non-compliant if you forget to register with the local law enforcement agency within three days of notification by the Illinois Department of Corrections or the Court, if you forget to register either annually or quarterly as required, if for any reason the information provided during registration is not complete or not accurate, or if you change your address or any other required registration information and forget to notify law enforcement.

Contact a Criminal Defense Attorney Today

If you have been charged with any crime that could lead to your inclusion on the sex offender registry, or if you are already a registered sex offender, and you are in DuPage County or the greater Chicago area, contact David L. Freidberg’s law offices now at 312-560-7100 for a free, confidential consultation to see how we can protect your rights.