Opinion ID: 1283881
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: aggravated offense finding

Text: SORA applies to any person who pleads guilty to or is found guilty of certain listed offenses, including sexual assault as defined by § 28-319 or Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-320 (Reissue 2008). [8] SORA includes a general requirement that persons convicted of these listed offenses must register with the sheriff of the county in which he or she resides [9] during any period of supervised release, probation, or parole and for a period of ten years after the date of discharge from probation, parole, or supervised release or release from incarceration, whichever date is most recent. [10] Certain sex offenders, however, are subject to a lifetime registration requirement. Section 29-4005(2) provides: A person required to register under section 29-4003 shall be required to register under [SORA] for the rest of his or her life if the offense creating the obligation to register is an aggravated offense, if the person has a prior conviction for a registrable offense, or if the person is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his or her life under the laws of another state, territory, commonwealth, or other jurisdiction of the United States. A sentencing court shall make that fact part of the sentencing order. The lifetime community supervision provisions of § 83-174.03 incorporate and mirror the lifetime registration provisions of SORA. [11] According to § 83-174.03(1), a defendant who commits an aggravated offense as defined by SORA shall, upon completion of his or her term of incarceration or release from civil commitment, be supervised in the community by the Office of Parole Administration for the remainder of his or her life. [4] SORA defines an aggravated offense as any registrable offense under section 29-4003 which involves the penetration of (i) a victim age twelve years or more through the use of force or the threat of serious violence or (ii) a victim under the age of twelve years. [12] Payan argues that he was not convicted of an aggravated offense as defined by SORA, because the elements of first degree sexual assault as charged in the amended information did not include either the use of force or the threat of serious violence or a victim under the age of 12 years. We recently rejected a similar contention in State v. Hamilton, [13] concluding that under SORA, a sentencing judge need not consider only the elements of an offense in determining whether an aggravated offense as defined in § 29-4005(4)(a) has been committed. Instead, the court may make this determination based upon information contained in the record. Payan's argument that the aggravated offense determination under SORA must be based solely upon the elements of the charged offense is without merit.