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Sex and
Kidnapping Offender Information
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
SEARCHING FOR REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
The Washington State Sex Offender Information Center
is a web site created by the Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs
at the direction of the Washington State legislature. This web site allows
you to search for RSO's living near you by searching an area around the address
you provide.
QUESTIONS ABOUT RSOs IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
If you have a question about a sex offender living inside the city limits of Woodland,
Kalama, Longview, Kelso or Castle Rock you should contact that towns police department.
Questions about sex offenders in unincorporated Cowlitz County should be directed
to the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office.
CAN A RSO BABY-SIT MY CHILD?
As of March 2002, the crime of Leaving a Child in the Care of a Sex Offender (RCW
9A.42.110) was enacted. To see the actual law, click on the following link.
Leaving a Child in the Care of a Sex Offender
DON'T PAY FOR RSO INFORMATION
Web site charging for information about sex offenders.
To read the Daily News article, click on the following link:
It is Law Enforcement's duty to inform the public
Sex offenders have always lived in our communities. However,
it wasn't until passage of the Community Protection Act of 1990
that took effect February 28, 1990 (which mandates sex offender registration) that
law enforcement agencies routinely tracked where sex offenders were living.
If you have information about a registered sex offender that you would like to pass
on to the Sheriff's Office, you can call a
detective at (360) 577-3092 ext 2278 or e-mail
brewerb@co.cowlitz.wa.us.
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Sex Offender Law
Changes that went into effect on 07/22/2011
2011—Changes in
various provisions of registration statutes
including amending definitions and adding
definition of "fixed residence," deletes
obsolete website and departure notice
provisions, clarifies registration information
collected, education provisions, failure to
register penalties, out of state convictions
registration requirements, relief of
registration, and multiple provisions related to
juvenile sex offenders including performance of
original risk assessment and relief of
registration and records sealing.
"Fixed
residence" means a building that a
person lawfully and habitually uses as
living quarters a majority of the week.
"Uses as living quarters" means to
conduct activities consistent with the
common understanding of residing, such
as sleeping; eating; keeping personal
belongings; receiving mail; and paying
utilities, rent, or mortgage. A
nonpermanent structure including, but
not limited to, a motor home, travel
trailer, camper, or boat may qualify as
a residence provided it lawfully and
habitually used as living quarters a
majority of the week, primarily kept at
one location with a physical address,
and the location it is kept at is either
owned or rented by the person or used by
the person with the permission of the
owner or renter. A shelter program may
qualify as a residence provided it is a
shelter program designed to provide
temporary living accommodations for the
homeless, provides an offender with a
personally assigned living space, and
the offender is permitted to store
belongings in the living space. (RCW
9A.44.128)
"Lacks a fixed
residence" means the person does not
have a living situation that meets the
definition of a fixed residence and
includes, but is not limited to, a
shelter program designed to provide
temporary living accommodations for the
homeless, an outdoor sleeping location,
or locations where the person does not
have permission to stay. (RCW 9A.44.128)
For each of
the following "business day" is defined
as any day other than Saturday, Sunday,
or a legal local, state, or federal
holiday.
Law
enforcement notification requirements
regarding offenders attending a school
or institution of higher
education/employed by higher education:
Upon receiving notice from a
registered sex offender that he/she will
be attending a school or institution of
higher education or will be employed
with an institution of higher education,
the sheriff must promptly notify the
school district and the school principal
or institution's department of public
safety and shall provide that school or
department .
The
notification shall include the
following: (a) Name and any aliases
used; (b) complete residential address;
(c) date and place of birth; (d) place
of employment; (e) crime for which
convicted; (f) date and place of
conviction; (g) social security number;
(h) photograph; and (i) risk level
classification.
The sheriff
shall notify the applicable school
district and school principal or
institution's department of public
safety whenever a student's risk level
classification is changed or the sheriff
is notified of a change in the student's
address.
Note: In 2011,
a definition was added for "In the
community" under 9A.44.128 and means
residing outside of confinement or
incarceration for a disqualifying
offense.
- Relief of registration:
The criteria for
a judge to use in making this determination are
included in the statute. 9A.44.142
- Relief of registration by operation of law
as determined by law enforcement:
Upon
request of a registered sex offender or
kidnapping offender the county sheriff shall
investigate whether the person duty to register
has ended by operation of law pursuant to RCW
9A.44.140. The sheriff shall use available
records to verify the offender has spent the
requisite time in the community and has not been
convicted of a disqualifying offense. If the
sheriff determines the person duty to register
has ended they shall request the WSP to remove
the name from the registry. A sheriff may also
conduct such an investigation upon his or her
own initiative. Immunity is provided for
requesting removal or failure to remove or
request removal.
Relief of
registration by operation of law for out
of state/federal offenses with proof of
court determination (RCW 9A.44.141):
A person who is listed in the central
registry as the result of a federal or
out-of-state conviction may request the
county sheriff in which the person is
registered to investigate whether the
person should be removed from the
registry if:
(i) A court in the person's state
of conviction has made an individualized
determination that the person should not
be required to register; and
(ii) The person provides proof of
relief from registration to the county
sheriff.
(b) If the county sheriff
determines the person has been relieved
of the duty to register in his or her
state of conviction, the county sheriff
shall request the Washington state
patrol remove the person's name from the
central registry.
New Law:
Class A vs. all others. A juvenile
offender can be relieved of registration
as follows:
For class A sex offenses or kidnapping
offenses committed when the petitioner
was fifteen years of age or older, the court
may relieve the petitioner of the duty to
register if:
- At least 60 months have passed since the
petitioner's adjudication and completion of
any term of confinement for the offense
giving rise to the duty to register and the
petitioner has not been adjudicated or
convicted of any additional sex offenses or
kidnapping offenses.
- The petitioner has not been adjudicated
or convicted of a violation of RCW 9A.44.132
(failure to register) during the sixty
months prior to filing the petition.
- The petitioner shows by a preponderance
of the evidence that the petitioner is
sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant
removal from the central registry of sex
offenders and kidnapping offenders.
For all other sex
offenses or kidnapping offenses committed by
a juvenile not included in subsection (2) of
this section, the court may relieve the
petitioner of the duty to register if:
- At least 24 months have passed since the
adjudication and
completion of any term of confinement for
the offense giving rise to the duty to
register and the petitioner has not been
adjudicated or convicted of any additional
sex offenses or kidnapping offenses.
- The petitioner has not been adjudicated
or convicted of a FTR during the 24 months
prior to filing the petition and shows by a
preponderance of the evidence that the
petitioner is sufficiently rehabilitated to
warrant removal from the central registry of
sex offenders and kidnapping offenders.
C. Sealing of
Juvenile Record. A Juvenile convicted of a sex
offense can now petition to have his or her record
sealed once they have been relieved of the duty to
register. RCW 13.50.050
As of July 22, 2011, there
are additional sex offender populations to be
reviewed and assigned an initial risk level by the
End of Sentence Review Committee, as provided below.
See RCW 72.09.345.
To aid law enforcement
agencies in making community notification decisions,
the statutes require that the End of Sentence Review
Committee review the following sex offenders:
- Offenders preparing for release from
confinement for a sex offense or sexually
violent offense committed on or after July
1, 1984.
- Sex offenders accepted from another
state under a reciprocal agreement under the
interstate corrections compact authorized in
chapter 72.74 RCW.
- Juveniles preparing for release from
confinement for a sex offense and releasing
from the department of social and health
services juvenile rehabilitation
administration.
- Juveniles, following disposition, under
the jurisdiction of a county juvenile court
for a registerable sex offense.
- Juveniles found to have committed a sex
offense and accepted from another state
under a reciprocal agreement under the
interstate compact for juveniles authorized
in chapter 13.24 RCW. RCW 9.95.140; RCW
13.40.217; RCW 72.09.345.
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The Sheriff's Office is releasing Level III Offender information
pursuant to
R.C.W. 4.24.550 and the Washington State Supreme Court Decision in State
v. Ward, 123 Wa 2d 488 (1994). Law enforcement agencies are authorized to inform
the public of a sex offender's release from confinement, or change of residence,
when such information will enhance public safety and protection.
This notification is not intended to increase fear; rather
it is our belief that an informed public is a safer public.
Sex offenders have always lived in our communities and
Law Enforcement has no legal authority to direct where sex offenders may or may
not live. Unless court ordered restrictions exist, an offender is constitutionally
free to live wherever he or she chooses. However the Community Protection Act of
1990 requires that those convicted of sex offenses must register, with the primary
legislative intent, "to assist law enforcement agencies' efforts to protect
their communities" by providing relevant and necessary information.
"How
can I learn about Level II and Level I sex offenders in my neighborhood?"
Citizen abuse of this information to threaten,
intimidate or harass registered sex and kidnapping offenders will not be tolerated.
Such abuse could potentially end our current ability to release this important
information to the public.
RCW 9A.42.110
Leaving a child in the care of a sex offender.
(1) A person is guilty of the crime of leaving a child in the care of a sex offender
if the person is (a) the parent of a child; (b) entrusted with the physical custody
of a child; or (c) employed to provide to the child the basic necessities of life,
and leaves the child in the care or custody of another person who is not a parent,
guardian, or lawful custodian of the child, knowing that the person is registered
or required to register as a sex offender under the laws of this state, or a law
or ordinance in another jurisdiction with similar requirements, because of a sex
offense against a child.
(2) It is an affirmative defense to the charge of leaving a child in the care of
a sex offender under this section, that the defendant must prove by a preponderance
of the evidence, that a court has entered an order allowing the offender to have
unsupervised contact with children, or that the offender is allowed to have unsupervised
contact with the child in question under a family reunification plan, which has
been approved by a court, the department of corrections, or the department of social
and health services in accordance with department policies.
(3) Leaving a child in the care of a sex offender is a misdemeanor.
[2002 c 170 § 1.]
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