Oklahoma made numerous changes to the sex offender registration requirements in 2017. The following is a list of the changes:
- If a person subject to the Sex Offenders Registration Act received a suspended sentence or any probationary term, including a deferred sentence, the court must use the the sex offender level assignments established by the sex offender level assignment committee.
- The court must also order any person subject to the Sex Offenders Registration Act who received a suspended sentence or any probationary term, including a deferred sentence, to report to the local law enforcement authority in the municipality or county in which the offender resides and report to the DOC probation and parole office in the district in which the offender resides.
- Within three business days after the court orders the judgment and sentence of a sex offender, the court clerk must transmit to the Sex and Violent Offenders Registration Unit of the Department of Corrections a certified copy of: 1) The judgment and sentence; or 2) Plea paperwork, Summary of Facts and Sentence on Plea or Sentencing After Jury Trial Summary of Facts.
- In the absence of receipt of the mailed verification form by the offender, the offender must
continue to comply with the reporting requirements as provided the statute. The offender should
report as required to the local law enforcement agency for current address verification. The Department of Corrections will provide an alternative address verification form to local law enforcement for conformity. - Failure to return the verification form or report as required is a violation of the Sex Offenders Registration Act.
- Any person subject to the provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act who changes address, employment or student enrollment status must appear in person and give notification only to local law enforcement.
- Nothing in the 57 O.S. § 590(B) will prevent the Department of Human Services from conducting and completing a safety evaluation when a registered sex offender resides in the home of a
minor child. - Any person subject to the provisions of the Sex Offenders Registration Act who resides with a minor child as the parent, stepparent, or grandparent of the minor child, provided the minor child was not the victim of the offense for which the person is required to register, must report to the statewide centralized hotline of the Department of Human Services the name and date of birth of any and all minor children residing in the same household and the offenses for which the person is required to register pursuant to the Sex Offenders Registration Act within three days of intent to reside with a minor child.
Summary Of Changes To Oklahoma’s Sex Offender Registration Requirements
Several of these are administrative changes that will not have a huge impact on sex offenders. The change allowing sex offenders to report address changes, etc. to law enforcement makes things a bit easier on sex offenders. Previously, they had to report to both law enforcement and the Department of Corrections. The failure to report as required is an additional way sex offenders can get in trouble. The requirement to report the children with whom the sex offender resides is a significant additional requirement for sex offenders. The change making the failure to report a criminal violation likewise makes the failure to report the children with whom the sex offender resides a criminal violation.
SB 217 modified 57 O.S. § 582.2, 57 O.S. § 584, & 57 O.S. § 590. This law went into effect on November 1, 2017.
Sources: SB 217, 57 O.S. § 582.2, 57 O.S. § 584, 57 O.S. § 590, & 22 O.S. § 991c