Colorado Juvenile Sex Offender Registry Laws

Background of the Sex Offender Registry

Megan’s law is named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who moved across the street from the family without their knowledge. Megan’s law authorizes law enforcement to release to the public information about registered sex offenders.

The Colorado sex offender registry includes only those persons who have been required by law to register and who are in compliance with the sex offender registration laws.

Publication on the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) Website

By state law, not all registered sex offenders may be listed on the Internet. Per C.R.S. 16-22-112, a sex offender’s information may be listed on the Internet only if the person is:

Adults: Internet Publication

An adult convicted of a felony requiring them to register pursuant to C.R.S.16-22-103;
An adult convicted of a second or subsequent offense of any of the following misdemeanors:
Sexual Conduct in a Penal Institution under C.R.S.18-7-701

Juveniles: Internet Publication

A juvenile adjudicated for two or more offenses involving unlawful sexual behavior or a for a crime of violence as defined under C.R.S. 18-1.3-406
A juvenile who is required to register pursuant to section 16-22-103 because he or she was adjudicated for an offense that would have been a felony if committed by an adult and has failed to register as required by section 16-22-103.

Basic State Sex Offender Registration for Juveniles

Colorado Revised Statute Section 16-22-101 provides for registration under Colorado law.

Note that C.R.S. § 16-22-112(1) prohibits sex offender registry information to be used to inflict retribution or additional punishment upon the registrant

Colorado’s Juvenile Sex Offender Registry Requirements: C.R.S. § 16-22-112 (4)

The provisions of this article shall apply to any person who receives a disposition or is adjudicated a juvenile delinquent based on the commission of any act that may constitute unlawful sexual behavior or who receives a deferred adjudication based on commission of any act that may constitute unlawful sexual behavior…

Except that, with respect to section 16-22-113 (1) (a) to (1) (e), a person may petition the court for an order to discontinue the duty to register as provided in those paragraphs, but only if the person has not subsequently received a disposition for, been adjudicated a juvenile delinquent for, or been otherwise convicted of any offense involving unlawful sexual behavior.

In addition, the duty to provide notice to a person of the duty to register, as set forth in sections 16-22-105 to 16-22-107, shall apply to juvenile parole and probation officers and appropriate personnel of the division of youth corrections in the department of human services.

(5) (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, if, pursuant to a motion filed by a person described in this subsection (5) or on its own motion, a court determines that the registration requirement specified in this section would be unfairly punitive and that exempting the person from the registration requirement would not pose a significant risk to the community, the court, upon consideration of the totality of the circumstances, may exempt the person from the registration requirements imposed pursuant to this section if:

(I) The person was younger than eighteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense; and

(II) The person has not been previously charged with unlawful sexual behavior; and

(III) The offense, as charged in the first petition filed with the court, is a first offense of either misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact, as described in section 18-3-404, C.R.S., or indecent exposure, as described in section 18-7-302, C.R.S.; and

(IV) The person has received a sex offender evaluation that conforms with the standards developed pursuant to section 16-11.7-103 (4) (f), from an evaluator who meets the standards established by the sex offender management board, and the evaluator recommends exempting the person from the registration requirements based upon the best interests of that person and the community; and

(V) The court makes written findings of fact specifying the grounds for granting such exemption.

(b) Any defendant who files a motion pursuant to this subsection (5) or the court, if considering its own motion, shall provide notice of the motion to the prosecuting district attorney. In addition, the court shall provide notice of the motion to the victim of the offense. Prior to deciding the motion, the court shall conduct a hearing on the motion at which both the district attorney and the victim shall have opportunity to be heard.

(6) Any person who is required to register pursuant to this section and fails to do so or otherwise fails to comply with the provisions of this article may be subject to prosecution for the offense of failure to register as a sex offender, as described in section 18-3-412.5, C.R.S. Failure of any governmental entity or any employee of any governmental entity to comply with any requirement of this article shall not constitute a defense to the offense of failure to register as a sex offender if there is evidence that the defendant had actual notice of the duty to register.

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The CBI website does not list all convicted sex offenders in Colorado.

Pursuant to C.R.S. 16-22-111, the following categories of high-risk registered sex offenders are required to be posted on the CBI website:

Sexually Violent Predators
Sex offenders who have two or more adult felony convictions for unlawful sexual behavior or crimes of violence
Sex offenders who have not registered, or have a history of failing to register, as required, with their local law enforcement agency
A person who has been convicted of a felony sex offense as an adult that requires registration and is currently registered
A public request for a registered sex offender list.

The CBI does not post information concerning:

Sex offenders only convicted of misdemeanor sex offenses
Juveniles adjudicated for sex crimes.

The Steinberg Colorado Criminal Defense Law Firm
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