Can You Terminate Your Sex Offender Status?
Yes, you can!
Just five months ago, California changed its sex offender legislation, and that’s positive news for everyone.
You see, California’s sex offender legislation has been around for 70 years. It’s antiquated by modern standards, especially with improved law enforcement tools and shifting social opinions on what counts as a sexual offense.
Plus, in the old system, convicted adults were assigned sex offender status for life—without accounting for the severity of their crimes.
Not only is this unfair to most offenders, but it’s also ineffective (for reasons you’ll see below).
However, the new tier system registers convicts for a limited time span—giving most convicted offenders a chance to clear their records.
How It Works
Before registering an offender into a tier, a risk assessment is conducted. The goal is to evaluate how likely someone is to commit the same crime in the future.
The higher the risk assessment, the longer a convict remains registered.
How Long Do Registrations Last?
This brings us to the tier system.
Adult offenders are assigned to one of three tiers, as follows:
- Tier 1 – Registered for 10 years
- Tier 2 – Registered for 20 years
- Tier 3 – Lifetime registration
Who Gets Assigned to Each Tier?
The first tier is reserved for the least severe offenses. This category includes most offenders, with crimes such as misdemeanor indecent exposure and misdemeanor sexual battery.
The second tier is assigned to more serious offenses—examples include lewd acts with minors under 14 years of age (unforced acts).
The third tier is for severe crimes, such as rape and human trafficking. It also includes repeat sex offenses and crimes against children under 10. Registration in this tier lasts for life.
Are the New Changes Positive?
Absolutely. And they’re not just positive for convicted offenders—it’s also a positive change for law enforcement.
One of the problems with the old system was inefficiency. Every sex offender had equal priority, regardless of their risk level or track record. This made it difficult for law enforcement to prioritize dangerous offenders over minor ones.
In fact, according to Senator Scott Wiener, law enforcement officers spent over 60% of their work time on low-risk paperwork!
Benefits for Low-Risk Convicts
Previously, all sex offenders were assigned their status for life.
They also had to go through significant bureaucratic hassle as long as they were registered.
Example: Residence Updates
Registered offenders were constantly required to update their residence information with law enforcement.
The problem was especially pronounced for transients (those without a permanent residence).
These individuals were required to update their residency with law enforcement every 30 days at most. Additionally, individuals had to report to law enforcement if they had been present in a location for more than five days.
This also applied to those moving out of state.
Individuals leaving California needed to inform their local law enforcement of their intent to move within the next five days.
They also needed to inform law enforcement before planning to move back into California.
Megan’s Database Removal
Another benefit is a reduced registration time in Megan’s Law database.
Megan’s Law is a public database for sex offenders. It’s extracted from the private database of the California Department of Justice, which contains over 120,000 registered offenders.
Being registered there means that anyone can see a registrant’s information, including financial services, job interviewers, travel authorities, etc.
It makes mobility harder for an offender, both socially and physically. Additionally, Megan’s database sometimes includes detailed identifying information, such as their address.
In the older system, this could put adult convicts at risk of being targeted. So, the less time a minor offender is publicly registered, the better.
Speaking of Unfair Convictions
According to Senator Wiener, California’s history has been rife with politically and socially motivated wrongful charges. One example is the LGBT community.
These wrongful convictions meant lifetime registration for innocent LGBT individuals.
With the new tier system, however, many wrongfully charged individuals can change and clear up their status.
How to Terminate Sex Offender Status
For adults, there are multiple ways to go about this. These include:
- Petitioning
- Getting your case dismissed (expungement)
- Obtaining a rehabilitation certificate
Petition
This option is not yet in effect. The state of California plans to introduce it by July 1st this year.
Petitioning allows offenders to have their sex offender status removed at their local superior court.
This option is available only to tier 1 and 2 registrants. The individual must not have any pending charges against them when petitioning for their status.
Additionally, this option applies only to individuals who are not on probation, parole, or supervised release.
Expungement
Getting your case dismissed means having your criminal record cleared. It removes the charge and conviction.
However, it does not remove your status as a sex offender in California. But it does make it easier for you to petition the court later.
This option is not available to individuals convicted of lewd acts with children or sexual abuse of children (14 or younger). It is also not available to offenders whose charge involves oral sex.
Additionally, rape crimes against minors (16 or younger) make a person ineligible for expungement.
Rehabilitation Certificate
This is a third option, and unlike record expungement, an individual does not have to register as an offender.
Individuals can only apply within 7 to 10 years after being released from custody. They can also apply while on probation or parole.
Additional requirements include:
- The individual must have lived in California for five years before submitting their application.
- The individual cannot be on probation for other felonies.
- The individual must not have been incarcerated since their case dismissal.
- The court must have expunged their case.
Note that rehabilitation certificates are denied for the same charges that expungements are denied.
Need Your Status Cleared?
Consider the above as a guide on how to get your status cleared.
It’s highly recommended that you contact a lawyer for legal advice. Get in touch with Esfandi Law Group for a free consultation and get started!
Need a Criminal Defense Attorney? CALL NOW: (310) 274-6529
Seppi Esfandi is an Expert Criminal Defense Attorney who has over 23 years of practice defending a variety of criminal cases.
