Opinion ID: 1797220
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Heading: Does Iowa's Residency-Restricting Statute Apply Only to Registered Sex Offenders?

Text: Iowa Code section 692A.2A provides, in pertinent part: 1. For purposes of this section, person means a person who has committed a criminal offense against a minor, or an aggravated offense, sexually violent offense, or other relevant offense that involved a minor. 2. A person shall not reside within two thousand feet of the real property comprising a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school or a child care facility. 3. A person who resides within two thousand feet of the real property comprising a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school, or a child care facility, commits an aggravated misdemeanor. It is undisputed that statutory rape under Iowa Code section 698.1 (1975) qualifies as a relevant offense under section 692A.2A. Wright argues that the residency restriction applies only to registered sex offenders, based largely on the fact that this statute is included in the chapter entitled sex offender registry. Before we engage in statutory construction, we must determine whether the statute is ambiguous. State v. Spencer, 737 N.W.2d 124, 129 (Iowa 2007). A statute is ambiguous `if reasonable persons could disagree as to its meaning.' Id. (quoting IBP v. Harker, 633 N.W.2d 322, 325 (Iowa 2001)). Ambiguity may arise in two ways: from the meaning of particular words or from the general scope and meaning of the statute when all of its provisions are examined. Id. In this case, the legislature specifically set the parameters of section 692A.2A by stating it applies to a person. Had the legislature failed to define person, the statute might arguably be ambiguous. However, it did define the term. Specifically, it is a person who has committed a criminal offense against a minor, or an aggravated offense, sexually violent offense, or other relevant offense that involved a minor. Iowa Code § 692A.2A(1). This definition is not ambiguous; the legislature did not limit the application of section 692A.2A to registered sex offenders, as Wright argues. Rather, it chose to make the residency restrictions applicable to a broader category of persons  those who have committed certain criminal offenses against minors. This definition clearly makes section 692A.2A applicable to Wright since he is a person convicted of statutory rape  a criminal offense against a minor. Further, the only reason Wright is not a registered sex offender is that he had completed his sentence prior to July 1, 1995, when the registry statute became effective. See Iowa Code § 692A.16(1). Simply including the residency-restriction statute in the chapter entitled sex offender registry does not mean the legislature intended to limit application of that statute to those persons subject to the registry requirements. In fact, it clearly showed a contrary intent. The legislative bill that later became section 692A.2A was originally proposed in the more restrictive form. The original bill provided: A person required to register under this chapter shall not reside within two thousand feet of the real property comprising a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school or a child care facility. S.F. 2197, § 3 (original bill language) (emphasis added). The legislature struck the language that would have limited the statute to registered sex offenders in favor of the language that applied it to all persons. We conclude Wright is subject to the restrictions of section 692A.2A.