SEX OFFENDERS BACKGROUND BRIEF

LPRO: Legislative Policy and Research Office

OVERVIEW WHO MUST REGISTER AND

Oregon established its in REPORT 1989 for the purpose of assisting law All persons convicted of a registerable offense enforcement in the prevention of future sex have an obligation to register and report as a crimes. Currently, there are more than 28,000 sex offender. Persons found guilty except for offenders registered in the state. Registration insanity or convicted in another state are also is required for those convicted of specific sex required to register. crimes. The Oregon State Registerable offenses are Police (OSP) maintains a CONTENTS found in ORS 163A.005(5). database of all registered sex OVERVIEW They are: offenders and a publicly

accessible website with  Rape in any degree; WHO MUST REGISTER AND information on high risk REPORT offenders.  Sodomy in any degree;

 Unlawful sexual In 2015, 1,408 new sex HOUSE BILL 2549 (2013) AND penetration in any offenders registered with OSP. THE TIERED SYSTEM An additional 27,281 degree; offenders maintained their NOTIFICATION AND PUBLIC  Sexual abuse in any registration, for a total of WEBSITE degree; 28,689 offenders. According to the Crime Victim’s Center JUVENILE OFFENDERS  Incest with a child and the United States Census, victim; Oregon has the highest TAFF ONTACT S C  Using a child in a percentage of registered sex display of sexually offenders in the nation. explicit conduct; Oregon has developed a system for providing  Encouraging child sexual abuse in any reporting relief to some low risk offenders degree; while maintaining on-going reporting requirements for high and medium risk  Transporting child pornography into offenders. Additionally, Oregon allows the state; juvenile sex offenders to request a hearing prior to reporting to determine whether to  Paying for viewing a child’s sexually grant relief from the reporting requirement. explicit conduct;  Compelling prostitution;  Promoting prostitution;

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 Kidnapping in the first degree if the A person with an obligation to register must victim was under 18 years of age; do so within ten days following or beginning supervision. Offenders must also  Contributing to the sexual report, in person, within ten days of changing delinquency of a minor; residency; having a birthday; or beginning or  Sexual misconduct if the offender is at changing work, school, or vocational least 18 years of age; programs. Reports can be made to OSP, or a city law enforcement or county sheriff’s office.  Possession of materials depicting Offenders who move to Oregon from another sexually explicit conduct of a child in state must register within ten days of moving the first degree; into the state. Offenders who are attending  Kidnapping in the second degree if the school or working in Oregon, but reside in victim was under 18 years of age, another state, must also register within ten except by a parent or by a person days of beginning or changing school or found to be within the jurisdiction of employment. the juvenile court; HOUSE BILL 2549 (2013) AND  Online sexual corruption of a child in THE TIERED SYSTEM any degree if the offender reasonably believed the child to be more than five In 2013, the legislature enacted House Bill years younger than the offender; 2549, which took effect January 1, 2014. The measure created a three-tiered sex offender  Certain instances of luring a minor; ranking system that sought to identify low,  Sexual of an animal; medium and high risk offenders through the use of a validated risk assessment tool. The  Public indecency or private indecency, tool uses a ten-item actuarial assessment to if the person has a prior of designate offenders as high (Level Three), certain crimes; medium (Level Two) or low risk (Level One).  Trafficking in persons; The assessment tool determines the risk of an individual sexually reoffending in the  Purchasing sex with a minor; community, but is only available for use with male sex offenders over the age of 18.  Invasion of personal privacy in the Evaluations for female sex offenders and first degree; juvenile sex offenders are conducted through  Attempt to commit any of the crimes other tools and done in person. The measure listed above; required all offenders in the registry to be reclassified and for classification of new  Burglary, when committed with intent offenders to take place before their release. to commit any of the offenses listed Reclassification of offenders is an ongoing above; or effort that will likely continue into 2018.  Criminal conspiracy if the offender Prior to enactment of HB 2549, sex offenders agrees with one or more persons to fell into three categories: predatory offenders, engage in or cause the performance of sexually violent dangerous offenders or sexual an offense outlined above.

SEX OFFENDERS PAGE 2 OF 4 UPDATED: FEBRUARY 2017 SEX OFFENDERS offenders. The predatory designation was sex offender treatment programs and the attached by the court judge and applied person’s stabilit. The state’s interest is only to for rape, sodomy, unlawful represented by the District Attorney of the sexual penetration, sexual abuse and attempts county of conviction or the Attorney General. of those crimes. Sexually violent dangerous The victim of the crime receives notification offenders were designated by the court or the of the hearing and may appear. State Board of and Post-Prison Supervision and applied only to first degree NOTIFICATION AND PUBLIC sex offenses and attempts. These designations WEBSITE could only be applied to those convicted of the specified crimes and were not based. OSP maintains a public website with This lead to inconsistently applied information on over 700 high-risk sex designations and situations in which an offenders. In order to be placed on the public offender should have been designated a higher website, the offender must be either risk level and was not. designated a Level Three offender or have a pre-2013 “predatory” offender designation Under HB 2549, if a person was designated a and have been on a high level of supervision. “predatory” sex offender or “sexually violent According to a September 2016 report to the dangerous offender,” that person is an legislature, there are currently 225 Level Three automatic Level Three offender. All Level offenders and 485 predatory offenders on the Three offenders are listed on the OSP website website. The Board of Parole and Post-Prison and are ineligible for total relief from Supervision estimates that five to ten percent reporting obligations. Other Level Three of the total sex offender population will be offenders are eligible to apply to move to Level classified as Level Three, and eventually Two after ten years without re-offense. Level placed on the public website. Two offenders are eligible for reclassification to Level One after ten years without re-offense. Additionally, OSP maintains a database of all Level One offenders are eligible for relief from registered sex offenders. Information from the reporting obligation after five years that database must be released, when without re-offense. requested, if it is necessary to protect the public. Information may be released if it is When an offender petitions for determined to be in the public interest. reclassification, the State Board of Parole and Specific Level Three offender information Post-Prison Supervision or the Psychiatric may be given to others, including those living Security Review Board, as appropriate, must with a sex offender, neighbors, churches, hold a hearing. At the hearing, the parks, schools, child care centers, long-term apporpriate supervisory board will determine, care facilities and local or regional media by clear and convincing evidence, whether the sources. For Level Two and Level One offender is statistically unlikely to reoffend offenders, information may be released to the and whether he or she poses a threat to public specific persons or entities outlined above. safety. When making this determiniation the court considers a number of factors, including the nature of the crime and degree of violence involved in the offense, the offender’s performance on supervision, completion of

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JUVENILE OFFENDERS STAFF CONTACT

In 2015, House Bill 2320 provided a hearing Channa Newell mechanism for juvenile sex offenders to Legislative Policy and Research Office petition for relief from reporting 503-986-1525 requirements. The concept was further [email protected] refined in House Bill 4074 for the 2016 session. The two measures allow for a juvenile Please note that the Legislative Policy and Research who has been adjudicated for a felony sex Office provides centralized, nonpartisan research crime to petition the juvenile court for relief and issue analysis for Oregon’s legislative branch. from the reporting obligation. The optional The Legislative Policy and Research Office does not hearing is available to juveniles within six provide legal advice. Background Briefs contain months of the end of their supervision. general information that is current as of the date of publication. Subsequent action by the legislative, At the hearing, the juvenile has the burden to executive or judicial branches may affect accuracy. prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that he or she has been rehabilitated and does not pose a public safety threat. The court considers many factors when determining whether the juvenile has met this burden, including the physical and emotional impact or injury to the victim, the nature of the act, any use of force in committing the act, premeditation, whether the juvenile took advantage of a position of authority or trust, the victim’s age and vulnerability, the juvenile’s willingness to accept responsibility for the act and the treatment programs the juvenile has participated in. If the juvenile meets the burden of proof, the court may grant relief from the reporting requirement. If the juvenile does not meet the burden of proof, or if the juvenile does not request the hearing, then the juvenile is required to register and report as a sex offender. Reporting is through the Oregon Youth Authority.

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