Opinion ID: 852361
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Subsequent Amendments to the Act

Text: Since its inception in 1994 the Act has been amended several times. What began as a measure to give communities notification necessary to protect children from sex offenders, the Act has expanded in both breadth and scope. We summarize below the amendments most relevant to the case before us. The number of sex offenses that trigger the registration requirement has increased from eight to twenty-one, and has expanded to include murder, voluntary manslaughter, and under certain circumstances kidnapping and criminal confinement. Ind.Code §§ 11-8-8-5, -7 (Supp.2008). The length of time in which an offender has a duty to register has also increased. Originally the duty to register was prospective only, and terminated when the offender was no longer on probation or discharged from parole. Ind.Code § 5-2-12-13 (1994). But in 1995 the duty to register expanded to ten years after the date the offender was released from prison, placed on parole, or placed on probation, whichever occurred last. Ind.Code § 5-2-12-13 (1995). Aside from the registration component of the Act, over the years the notification component of the Act also expanded. Under a 1998 amendment, once an offender is discharged from a correctional facility, the facility is required to provide the local law enforcement authorities with, among other things, the offender's fingerprints, photograph, address where the offender is expected to live, complete criminal history, and any information concerning the offender's treatment of mental disorders. Ind. Code § 5-2-12-7 (1998). The 2001 amendment also requires information concerning any address at which the offender spends more than seven days, and the name and address of the offender's employment or school attendance. Ind.Code § 5-2-12-5 (2002) (amended January 1, 2003) (current version at I.C. § 11-8-8-7). A 2008 amendment requires the disclosure of any electronic mail address, instant messaging username, electronic chat room username, or social networking web site username that a sex offender uses or intends to use. Ind.Code § 11-8-8-8 (Supp. 2008). Verification of the disclosed information has also become more expansive. A 1998 amendment to the Act requires local law enforcement to verify the offender's current residence by mailing a form to the offender at least once per year, which the offender must return either by mail or in person. Ind.Code § 5-2-12-8.5 (1998). In 2006, the Act was amended to allow local law enforcement officers to visit personally the offender's address at least once per year. Ind.Code § 11-8-8-13 (2006). Under a 2008 amendment, if the offender uses an electronic mail address, instant messaging username, electronic chat room username, or social networking web site, the offender must sign a consent form authorizing searches of the offender's personal computer or device with Internet capacity at any time and installation of hardware and software to monitor the offender's Internet usage on any personal computer or device with Internet capacity. Ind.Code § 11-8-8-8 (2008). A 1999 amendment made registry information accessible through the Internet. Ind.Code § 5-2-12-11 (1999). Today, an offender's home address, work address, and links to maps of their locations are also available. [5] Black letters flash FAILED TO REGISTER under the photographs of offenders who have failed to register. Id. Red letters flash SEX PREDATOR under the photographs of offenders whose crimes qualify them as sexually violent predators. [6] Id. Also available is a search-by-name feature that allows web surfers in any part of the world to search the entire state of Indiana for people they know or might know. In addition to being available through Indiana's Online Registry, the information is available through the United States Department of Justice. See Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, http://www.nsopr.gov (last visited April 23, 2009). Criminal penalties associated with the duty to register have increased as well. When enacted in 1994, the Act classified failure to register as a Class A misdemeanor, or as a Class D felony if the offender had a prior unrelated offense for failure to register. Ind.Code § 5-2-12-9 (1994). Amendments in 1996 made failure to register a Class D felony, or Class C felony if there was a prior unrelated offense for failure to register. Ind.Code § 5-2-12-9 (1996). In addition, since 1996, at least once per year a sex offender must register in person with local law enforcement and be photographed in each location where the offender is required to register. Ind.Code § 11-8-8-14 (2006). Failure to do so is punishable as a Class D felony, or a Class C felony if the offender has a prior unrelated conviction for registration violations. Ind.Code § 11-8-8-17 (2006). A sexually violent predator who is absent for more than 72 hours from his principal place of residence or spends time in a county in which he is not otherwise required to register must inform law enforcement of his absence from his principal place of residence. Failure to do so is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor or Class D felony if the person has a prior unrelated offense for failing to comply with requirements imposed. Ind.Code § 11-8-8-18 (2006). An offender must also at all times keep in his or her possession a valid driver's license or identification card. Ind.Code § 11-8-8-15 (2006). Failure to do so is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, or Class D felony if the person is a sexually violent predator or has a prior unrelated conviction for failing to comply with requirements imposed. Id. And offenders cannot change their names except through marriage. Ind.Code § 11-8-8-16 (2006). In addition to the registration and notification components of the Act, a 2006 amendment to the criminal code made it an offense for sexually violent predators and certain subcategories of sex and violent offenders (those designated offenders against children) to live within one thousand feet of a school, youth program center, or public park, or living within one mile of the residence of the victim of the offender's sex offense. Ind.Code § 35-42-4-11 (2006).