§ 985.4815 — Notification to Department of Law Enforcement of information on juvenile sexual offenders

Florida § 985.4815

• Jurisdiction: Florida
• Title: XLVII
• Ch. 985: JUVENILE JUSTICE; INTERSTATE COMPACT ON JUVENILES

Text

(1) As used in this section, the term: (a) “Change in status at an institution of higher education” has the same meaning as provided in s. 775.21. (b) “Conviction” has the same meaning as provided in s. 943.0435. (c) “Electronic mail address” has the same meaning as provided in s. 668.602. (d) “Institution of higher education” has the same meaning as provided in s. 775.21. (e) “Internet identifier” has the same meaning as provided in s. 775.21. (f) “Permanent residence,” “temporary residence,” and “transient residence” have the same meaning as provided in s. 775.21. (g) “Professional license” has the same meaning as provided in s. 775.21. (h) “Sexual offender” means a person who is in the care or custody or under the jurisdiction or supervision of the department or is in the custody of a contractor-operated correctional facility and who: 1. Has been adjudicated delinquent as provided in s. 943.0435(1)(h)1.d.; or 2. Establishes or maintains a residence in this state and has not been designated as a sexual predator by a court of this state but has been designated as a sexual predator, as a sexually violent predator, or by another sexual offender designation in another state or jurisdiction and was, as a result of such designation, subjected to registration or community or public notification, or both, or would be if the person were a resident of that state or jurisdiction, without regard to whether the person otherwise meets the criteria for registration as a sexual offender. (i) “Vehicles owned” has the same meaning as provided in s. 775.21.

(2) The clerk of the court that adjudicated and entered a disposition regarding the sexual offender for the offense or offenses for which he or she was convicted shall forward to the department and the Department of Law Enforcement a certified copy of any order entered by the court imposing any special condition or restriction on the sexual offender which restricts or prohibits access to the victim, if the victim is a minor, or to other minors. The Department of Law Enforcement may include on its Internet website such special conditions or restrictions.

(3) If a sexual offender is not sentenced to a term of residential commitment, the clerk of the court shall ensure that the sexual offender’s fingerprints are taken and forwarded to the Department of Law Enforcement within 48 hours after the court sentences the offender. The fingerprints shall be clearly marked “Sexual Offender Registration.”

(4) A sexual offender, as described in this section, who is under the supervision of the department but who is not committed shall register with the department within 3 business days after adjudication and disposition for a registrable offense and otherwise provide information as required by this subsection. (a) The sexual offender shall provide his or her name; date of birth; social security number; race; sex; height; weight; hair and eye color; tattoos or other identifying marks; the make, model, color, vehicle identification number (VIN), and license tag number of all vehicles owned; permanent or legal residence and address of temporary residence within the state or out of state while the sexual offender is in the care or custody or under the jurisdiction or supervision of the department in this state, including any rural route address or post office box; if no permanent or temporary address, any transient residence; address, location or description, and dates of any current or known future temporary residence within the state or out of state; all home telephone numbers and cellular telephone numbers required to be provided pursuant to s. 943.0435(4)(e); all electronic mail addresses and Internet identifiers required to be provided pursuant to s. 943.0435(4)(e); and the name and address of each school attended. The sexual offender shall also produce his or her passport, if he or she has a passport, and, if he or she is an alien, shall produce or provide information about documents establishing his or her immigration status. The offender shall also provide information about any professional licenses he or she has. The department shall verify the address of each sexual offender and shall report to the Department of Law Enforcement any failure by a sexual offender to comply with registration requirements. (b) If the sexual offender is enrolled or employed, whether for compensation or as a volunteer, at an institution of higher education in this state, the sexual offender shall provide the name, address, and county of each institution, including each campus attended, and the sexual offender’s enrollment, volunteer, or employment status. Each change in status at an institution of higher education must be reported to the department within 48 hours after the change in status at an institution of higher education. The department shall promptly notify each institution of the sexual offender’s presence and any change in the sexual offender’s enrollment, volunteer, or employment status. (c) A sexual offender shall report in person to the sheriff’s office within 48 hours after any change in vehicles owned to report those vehicle information changes.

(5) In addition to notification and transmittal requirements imposed by any other provision of law, the department shall compile information on any sexual offender and provide the information to the Department of Law Enforcement. The department must make the information available electronically to the Department of Law Enforcement in its database in a format that is compatible with the requirements of the Florida Crime Information Center.

(6)(a) The information provided to the Department of Law Enforcement must include the following: 1. The information obtained from the sexual offender under subsection (4). 2. The sexual offender’s most current address and place of permanent, temporary, or transient residence within the state or out of state, and address, location or description, and dates of any current or known future temporary residence within the state or out of state, while the sexual offender is in the care or custody or under the jurisdiction or supervision of the department in this state, including the name of the county or municipality in which the offender permanently or temporarily resides, or has a transient residence, and address, location or description, and dates of any current or known future temporary residence within the state or out of state; and, if known, the intended place of permanent, temporary, or transient residence, and address, location or description, and dates of any current or known future temporary residence within the state or out of state upon satisfaction of all sanctions. 3. The legal status of the sexual offender and the scheduled termination date of that legal status. 4. The location of, and local telephone number for, any department office that is responsible for supervising the sexual offender. 5. An indication of whether the victim of the offense that resulted in the offender’s status as a sexual offender was a minor. 6. The offense or offenses at adjudication and disposition that resulted in the determination of the offender’s status as a sex offender. 7. A digitized photograph of the sexual offender, which must have been taken within 60 days before the offender was released from the custody of the department or a contractor-operated correctional facility by expiration of sentence under s. 944.275, or within 60 days after the onset of the department’s supervision of any sexual offender who is on probation, residential commitment, nonresidential commitment, licensed child-caring commitment, community control, conditional release, parole, provisional release, or control release or who is supervised by the department under the Interstate Compact Agreement for Probationers and Parolees. If the sexual offender is in the custody of a contractor-operated correctional facility, the facility shall take a digitized photograph of the sexual offender within the time period provided in this subparagraph and shall provide the photograph to the department. (b) If any information provided by the department changes during the time the sexual offender is under the department’s care, control, custody, or supervision, including any change in the offender’s name by reason of marriage or other legal process, the department shall, in a timely manner, update the information and provide it to the Department of Law Enforcement in the manner prescribed in subsection (5).

(7) If the sexual offender is in the custody of a local jail, the custodian of the local jail shall register the offender within 3 business days after intake of the offender for any reason and upon release, and shall forward the information to the Department of Law Enforcement. The custodian of the local jail shall also take a digitized photograph of the sexual offender while the offender remains in custody and shall provide the digitized photograph to the Department of Law Enforcement.

(8) If the sexual offender is under federal supervision, the federal agency responsible for supervising the sexual offender may forward to the Department of Law Enforcement any information regarding the sexual offender which is consistent with the information provided by the department under this section and may indicate whether use of the information is restricted to law enforcement purposes only or may be used by the Department of Law Enforcement for purposes of public notification.

(9) A sexual offender, as described in this section, who is under the care, jurisdiction, or supervision of the department but who is not incarcerated shall, in addition to the registration requirements provided in subsection (4), register in the manner provided in s. 943.0435(3), (4), and (5), unless the sexual offender is a sexual predator, in which case he or she shall register as required under s. 775.21. A sexual offender who fails to comply with the requirements of s. 943.0435 is subject to the penalties provided in s. 943.0435(9).

(10)(a) The failure of a sexual offender to submit to the taking of a digitized photograph, or to otherwise comply with the requirements of this section, is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (b) A sexual offender who commits any act or omission in violation of this section may be prosecuted for the act or omission in the county in which the act or omission was committed, the county of the last registered address of the sexual offender, or the county in which the adjudication and disposition occurred for the offense or offenses that meet the criteria for designating a person as a sexual offender. (c) An arrest on charges of failure to register when the offender has been provided and advised of his or her statutory obligations to register under s. 943.0435(2), the service of an information or a complaint for a violation of this section, or an arraignment on charges for a violation of this section constitutes actual notice of the duty to register. A sexual offender’s failure to immediately register as required by this section following such arrest, service, or arraignment constitutes grounds for a subsequent charge of failure to register. A sexual offender charged with the crime of failure to register who asserts, or intends to assert, a lack of notice of the duty to register as a defense to a charge of failure to register shall immediately register as required by this section. A sexual offender who is charged with a subsequent failure to register may not assert the defense of a lack of notice of the duty to register. (d) Registration following such arrest, service, or arraignment is not a defense and does not relieve the sexual offender of criminal liability for the failure to register.

(11) The department, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Corrections, personnel of those departments, and any individual or entity acting at the request or upon the direction of those departments are immune from civil liability for damages for good faith compliance with this section and shall be presumed to have acted in good faith in compiling, recording, reporting, or providing information. The presumption of good faith is not overcome if technical or clerical errors are made by the department, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Corrections, personnel of those departments, or any individual or entity acting at the request or upon the direction of those departments in compiling, recording, reporting, or providing information, or, if the information is incomplete or incorrect because the information has not been provided by a person or agency required to provide it, was not reported, or was falsely reported.

(12) Any person who has reason to believe that a sexual offender is not complying, or has not complied, with the requirements of this section and who, with the intent to assist the sexual offender in eluding a law enforcement agency that is seeking to find the sexual offender to question the sexual offender about, or to arrest the sexual offender for, his or her noncompliance with the requirements of this section: (a) Withholds information from, or does not notify, the law enforcement agency about the sexual offender’s noncompliance with the requirements of this section and, if known, the whereabouts of the sexual offender; (b) Harbors, attempts to harbor, or assists another person in harboring or attempting to harbor the sexual offender; (c) Conceals, attempts to conceal, or assists another person in concealing or attempting to conceal the sexual offender; or (d) Provides information to the law enforcement agency regarding the sexual offender that the person knows to be false commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. This subsection does not apply if the sexual offender is incarcerated in or is in the custody of a state correctional facility, a contractor-operated correctional facility, a local jail, or a federal correctional facility.

(13)(a) A sexual offender must report in person each year during the month of the sexual offender’s birthday and during every third month thereafter to the sheriff’s office in the county in which he or she resides or is otherwise located to reregister. (b) The sheriff’s office may determine the appropriate times and days for reporting by the sexual offender, which must be consistent with the reporting requirements of this subsection. Reregistration must include any changes to the following information: 1. Name; social security number; age; race; sex; date of birth; height; weight; hair and eye color; tattoos or other identifying marks; fingerprints; palm prints; address of any permanent residence and address of any current temporary residence, within the state or out of state, including a rural route address and a post office box; if no permanent or temporary address, any transient residence; address, location or description, and dates of any current or known future temporary residence within the state or out of state; passport information, if he or she has a passport, and, if he or she is an alien, information about documents establishing his or her immigration status; all home telephone numbers and cellular telephone numbers required to be provided pursuant to s. 943.0435(4)(e); all electronic mail addresses and Internet identifiers required to be provided pursuant to s. 943.0435(4)(e); name and address of each school attended; employment information required to be provided pursuant to s. 943.0435(4)(e); the make, model, color, vehicle identification number (VIN), and license tag number of all vehicles owned; and photograph. A post office box may not be provided in lieu of a physical residential address. The offender shall also provide information about any professional licenses he or she has. 2. If the sexual offender is enrolled or employed, whether for compensation or as a volunteer, at an institution of higher education in this state, the sexual offender shall also provide to the department the name, address, and county of each institution, including each campus attended, and the sexual offender’s enrollment, volunteer, or employment status. 3. If the sexual offender’s place of residence is a motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, or manufactured home, as defined in chapter 320, the sexual offender shall also provide the vehicle identification number; the license tag number; the registration number; and a description, including color scheme, of the motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, or manufactured home. If the sexual offender’s place of residence is a vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat, as defined in chapter 327, the sexual offender shall also provide the hull identification number; the manufacturer’s serial number; the name of the vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat; the registration number; and a description, including color scheme, of the vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat. 4. Any sexual offender who fails to report in person as required at the sheriff’s office, who fails to respond to any address verification correspondence from the department within 3 weeks after the date of the correspondence, or who knowingly provides false registration information by act or omission commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in ss. 775.082, 775.083, and 775.084. (c) The sheriff’s office shall, within 2 working days, electronically submit and update all information provided by the sexual offender to the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner prescribed by that department.

Legislative History

s. 13, ch. 2007-209; s. 15, ch. 2010-92; s. 66, ch. 2013-116; s. 11, ch. 2014-5; s. 29, ch. 2014-162; s. 63, ch. 2016-24; s. 8, ch. 2016-104; ss. 7, 11, ch. 2017-170; s. 30, ch. 2021-156; s. 10, ch. 2024-73; s. 52, ch. 2024-84; s. 20, ch. 2024-130.