Sexual offenders are mandatorily required to register based on the tier of their offence. A “tier” is a degree of intensity of the sexual crime the offender is responsible for. Once a person is registered as a sex offender, they have to provide all their personal information such as name, contact number, residential address, address of the school, office address, birth year, photograph (updated), date of conviction, etc. There are three tiers in classifying an individual for his offences. They are as follows:
Tier 1 Sex Offenders
- Criteria For Classification:A tier one sex offender is a person who hasn’t been convicted before, which means he is a first-time offender, and the victim wasn’t a minor.
- Examples:Offences like indecent behaviour in public, sexual acts with a person without their consent, etc.
- Period For Which The Offender Has To Be Registered:A tier 1 sex offender likely has to register for 15 years. In this period, they must appear for verification once a year.
Tier 2 Sex Offenders
- Criteria For Classification:A tier 2 sex offender has likely performed a sexual act, usually involving a minor.
- Examples:Second-time offences of tier 1 offenders, sexual acts with minors, trafficking minors for sexual assaults, etc.
- Period For Which The Offender Has To Be Registered:Offenders classified in this tier have to be registered for 25 years, during which they have to maintain a clean state. If not, they’ll be classified into tier 3 offenders. In this period, they must appear for verification twice a year.
Tier 3 Sex Offenders
- Criteria For Classification:These offenders are most concerning to society. People who have performed repeated sexual assaults on majors and minors are classified into this category.
- Examples:Any offences done by a tier 2 offender, sexual acts with an unconscious, mentally unstable, or disabled victim, sexual crimes with victims who can’t deny consent physically.
- Period For Which The Offender Has To Be Registered:A tier 3 offender has to be registered for their lifetime. They have to appear for verification four times a year.
As explained above, these are the classification criteria and the consequences if a person is convicted as a sex offender in a court of law. The tiers are established as per federal laws and regulations.
