Colorado Failure To Register Charges
If you have been convicted of a sex offense in Colorado, you have a duty to register as a sex offender. Seemingly innocent actions can result in charges of failure to register as a sexual offender or violation of the duty to register.
Moving From Out of State
For example, if you were convicted of a sex offense in another state and did not have to register there, you may still be required to register in Colorado. Contact the law office of McClintock Criminal Defense, P.C. to find out if you need to register here.
Moving Within the State
The sexual offender registration law requires that, when people move, they deregister in the jurisdiction they are moving out of and re-register in the jurisdiction they are moving into. Simply forgetting to deregister in the former jurisdiction is a violation of the duty to register.
A registered sex offender who visits a relative for a week can also be charged with a violation of the duty to register.
Failure to Advise of the Duty to Register
All too frequently, convicted sexual offenders are not given proper instructions about registration requirements at the time of their conviction. Without being given proper notice, they cannot be expected to comply with the regulations.
Our sex crimes defense team tracks down the records and reviews the original documentation to determine if our clients were properly advised of their responsibility to register. We often find that the original advisement was inaccurate on the law.
Sometimes our clients were told, “You may have to register as a sexual offender. Someone will contact you,” and no one ever did.
To discuss your situation with an attorney who is experienced in sexual offender registration requirements in Colorado, please contact McClintock Criminal Defense, P.C. in Colorado Springs.
Following are the latest Colorado statutes covering the Failure To Register charge:
Failure to Register As A Sex Offender In Colorado C.R.S. § 18-3-412.5
(1) A person who is required to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S., and who fails to comply with any of the requirements placed on registrants by said article, including but not limited to committing any of the acts specified in this subsection (1), commits the offense of failure to register as a sex offender:
(a) Failure to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S.;
(b) Submission of a registration form containing false information or submission of an incomplete registration form;
(c) Failure to provide information or knowingly providing false information to a probation department employee, to a community corrections administrator or his or her designee, or to a judge or magistrate when receiving notice pursuant to section 16-22-106 (1), (2), or (3), C.R.S., of the duty to register;
(d) If the person has been sentenced to a county jail, otherwise incarcerated, or committed, due to conviction of or disposition or adjudication for an offense specified in section 16-22-103, C.R.S., failure to provide notice of the address where the person intends to reside upon release as required in sections 16-22-106 and 16-22-107, C.R.S.;
(e) Knowingly providing false information to a sheriff or his or her designee, department of corrections personnel, or department of human services personnel concerning the address where the person intends to reside upon release from the county jail, the department of corrections, or the department of human services. Providing false information shall include, but is not limited to, providing false information as described in section 16-22-107 (4) (b), C.R.S.
(f) Failure when registering to provide the person’s current name and any former names;
(g) Failure to register with the local law enforcement agency in each jurisdiction in which the person resides upon changing an address, establishing an additional residence, or legally changing names;
(h) Failure to provide the person’s correct date of birth, to sit for or otherwise provide a current photograph or image, to provide a current set of fingerprints, or to provide the person’s correct address;
(i) Failure to complete a cancellation of registration form and file the form with the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the person will no longer reside;
(j) When the person’s place of residence is a trailer or motor home, failure to register an address at which the trailer or motor home is lawfully located pursuant to section 16-22-109 (1) (a.3), C.R.S.;
(k) Failure to register an e-mail address, instant-messaging identity, or chat room identity prior to using the address or identity if the person is required to register that information pursuant to section 16-22-108 (2.5), C.R.S.
(1.5) (a) In a prosecution for a violation of this section, it is an affirmative defense that:
(I) Uncontrollable circumstances prevented the person from complying;
(II) The person did not contribute to the creation of the circumstances in reckless disregard of the requirement to comply; and
(III) The person complied as soon as the circumstances ceased to exist.
(b) In order to assert the affirmative defense pursuant to this subsection (1.5), the defendant shall provide notice to the prosecuting attorney as soon as practicable, but not later than thirty-five days prior to trial, of his or her notice of intent to rely upon the affirmative defense. The notice shall include a description of the uncontrollable circumstance or circumstances and the dates the uncontrollable circumstances began and ceased to exist in addition to the names and addresses of any witnesses the defendant plans to call to support the affirmative defense. The prosecuting attorney shall advise the defendant of the names and addresses of any additional witnesses who may be called to refute such affirmative defense as soon as practicable after their names become known. Upon the request of the prosecution, the court shall first rule as a matter of law whether the claimed facts and circumstances would, if established, constitute sufficient evidence to support submission to the jury.
(2) (a) Failure to register as a sex offender is a class 6 felony if the person was convicted of felony unlawful sexual behavior, or of another offense, the underlying factual basis of which includes felony unlawful sexual behavior, or if the person received a disposition or was adjudicated for an offense that would constitute felony unlawful sexual behavior if committed by an adult, or for another offense, the underlying factual basis of which involves felony unlawful sexual behavior; except that any second or subsequent offense of failure to register as a sex offender by such person is a class 5 felony.
(b) Any person convicted of felony failure to register as a sex offender shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of section 18-1.3-401. If such person is sentenced to probation, the court may require, as a condition of probation, that the person participate until further order of the court in an intensive supervision probation program established pursuant to section 18-1.3-1007. If such person is sentenced to incarceration and subsequently released on parole, the parole board may require, as a condition of parole, that the person participate in an intensive supervision parole program established pursuant to section 18-1.3-1005.
(c) A person who is convicted of a felony sex offense in another state or jurisdiction, including but not limited to a military or federal jurisdiction, and who commits failure to register as a sex offender in this state commits felony failure to register as a sex offender as specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) and shall be sentenced as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2).
(3) (a) Failure to register as a sex offender is a class 1 misdemeanor if the person was convicted of misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior, or of another offense, the underlying factual basis of which involves misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior, or if the person received a disposition or was adjudicated for an offense that would constitute misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior if committed by an adult, or for another offense, the underlying factual basis of which involves misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior. A class 1 misdemeanor conviction pursuant to this subsection (3) is an extraordinary risk crime that is subject to the modified sentencing range specified in section 18-1.3-501 (3).
(b) A person who is convicted of a misdemeanor sex offense in another state or jurisdiction, including but not limited to a military or federal jurisdiction, and who commits failure to register as a sex offender in this state commits misdemeanor failure to register as a sex offender as specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3).
(4) (a) Any juvenile who receives a disposition or is adjudicated for a delinquent act of failure to register as a sex offender that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult shall be sentenced to a forty-five-day mandatory minimum detention sentence; except that any juvenile who receives a disposition or is adjudicated for a second or subsequent delinquent act of failure to register as a sex offender that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult shall be placed or committed out of the home for not less than one year.
(b) Any juvenile who receives a disposition or is adjudicated for a delinquent act of failure to register as a sex offender that would constitute a misdemeanor if committed by an adult shall be sentenced to a thirty-day mandatory minimum detention sentence; except that any juvenile who receives a disposition or is adjudicated for a second or subsequent delinquent act of failure to register as a sex offender that would constitute a misdemeanor if committed by an adult shall be sentenced to a forty-five-day mandatory minimum detention sentence.
(5) For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires, “unlawful sexual behavior” has the same meaning as set forth in section 16-22-102 (9), C.R.S.
(6) (a) When a peace officer determines that there is probable cause to believe that a crime of failure to register as a sex offender has been committed by a person required to register as a sexually violent predator in this state pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S., or in any other state, the officer shall arrest the person suspected of the crime. It shall be a condition of any bond posted by such person that the person shall register pursuant to the provisions of section 16-22-108, C.R.S., within seven days after release from incarceration.
(b) When a peace officer makes a warrantless arrest pursuant to this subsection (6), the peace officer shall immediately notify the Colorado bureau of investigation of the arrest. Upon receiving the notification, the Colorado bureau of investigation shall notify the jurisdiction where the sexually violent predator last registered. The jurisdiction where the sexually violent predator last registered, if it is not the jurisdiction where the probable cause arrest is made, shall coordinate with the arresting jurisdiction immediately to determine the appropriate jurisdiction that will file the charge. If the sexually violent predator is being held in custody after the arrest, the appropriate jurisdiction shall have no less than seven days after the date of the arrest to charge the sexually violent predator.
Sex Offender Registry Lawyer McClintock comments: Please note that although not in itself a sexual crime, the Failure To Register charge can require you to restart sex offense treatment and to be supervised under the conditions of sex offender probation. Including restrictions on contact with your own children.