Richmond Sex Offender Registration
If you have any questions regarding Richmond sex offender registration, do not hesitate to reach out to a professional defense attorney as soon as possible for assistance. A lawyer could help to walk you through the process, show you what your options are when facing this penalty, and how a successful defense strategy could potentially lead to its mitigation. Read on to learn more about what goes into Richmond sex offender registration, as well as the ways an attorney could potentially make a difference in your case today.
Different Levels of Richmond Sex Offender Registration
If someone is convicted of a sexual offense or a crime that involves sex offender registration, they must first register within three days. The Richmond jurisdiction does not allow a sex offender out of jail without registering them first, so law enforcement often ensures that this process is completed while they are in jail. For a non-violent sex offense, an annual registration must take place each year where the individual registers where they are living and working.
If someone is charged with failing to register after they have been on the registry for a non-violent offense, the time period in which they must register gets bumped up to every 180 days from every 365. When someone is charged with a violent sexual offense, that individual has to register every 90. If an individual finds themselves getting charged with failing to register when they are supposed to register for a violent offense, then it jumps up to every 30 days.
Changes that Merit Re-Registry
If somebody leaves the jail, and their job, residential situation, and car remain the same for 15 years, then they are only going to have to register as often as determined. However, with the Virginia sex offender registry, there are certain requirements that someone has to register when these things change. For example, if someone moves, it is their responsibility to re-register their new address. If they do not do that within a certain time period, that individual could be charged with failing to register even if they are a non-violent sex offender who has not met their yearly mark yet.
When someone buys a car, they have to register their vehicle. If they are changing jobs, they have to register their new job. These are examples of the different things that somebody must continue to update via the Virginia State Police, and if they fail to do so, then they will find themselves charged with failing to register. Even if the individual has become homeless, they need to tell the registry where they can find them, if needed.
Length of Registry
On a practical level, once someone is registered as a sex offender they will always be one it. However, if someone is a non-violent sex offender and with any kind of non-violent or violent sex offense, there are things the court automatically forces someone to do as punishment. For example, if someone is put on the Richmond sex offender registration, they have to go through treatment and they are going to be placed on probation.
If someone is a non-violent sex offender and they have completed their court-ordered treatment and counseling and after 15 years of no new crimes, then they can ask to have their name removed from the registry.
When someone is a violent sex offender, they cannot ask to have their name removed. If they have had multiple crimes, then they are not going to be allowed to remove it. At this point, the person is on the registry forever. There are ways to get off of the registry. However, it is difficult for people to go 15 years after completing the treatment and the counseling without getting another offense. It could be an offense as simple as failing to register.
How Public is This Information?
The Richmond sex offender registration information is extremely public and can be found as quickly as using a Google search. State and government websites all have that information and there are also secondary sources that pull from the state and government websites as well. This is to make sure that the registries are up to date and anybody can Google the state police or look up the state police registration and find the offender’s name, their charges, and where they are currently living.
If you wish to learn more about Richmond sex offender registration and require legal assistance during a sex crimes trial, consider reaching out to a professional defense attorney as soon as possible for a consultation today.
