§ 15:542 — Registration of sex offenders and child predators

§542. Registration of sex offenders and child predators
A. The following persons shall be required to register and provide notification as a
sex offender or child predator in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter:
(1) Any adult residing in this state who has pled guilty to, has been convicted of, or
where adjudication has been deferred or withheld for the perpetration or attempted
perpetration of, or any conspiracy to commit either of the following:
(a) A sex offense as defined in R.S. 15:541, with the exception of those convicted
of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile as provided in Subsection F of this Section.
(b) A criminal offense against a victim who is a minor as defined in R.S. 15:541.
(2) Any juvenile who has pled guilty or has been convicted of a sex offense or
second degree kidnapping as provided for in Children's Code Article 305 or 857, with the
exception of simple or third degree rape but including any conviction for an offense under
the laws of another state, or military, territorial, foreign, tribal, or federal law which is
equivalent to the offenses listed herein for which a juvenile would have to register.
(3) Any juvenile, who has attained the age of fourteen years at the time of
commission of the offense, who has been adjudicated delinquent based upon the perpetration,
attempted perpetration, or conspiracy to commit any of the following offenses:
(a) Aggravated or first degree rape (R.S. 14:42), which shall include those that have
been adjudicated delinquent based upon the perpetration, attempted perpetration, or
conspiracy to commit aggravated oral sexual battery (formerly R.S. 14:43.4, Repealed by
Acts 2001, No. 301, §2) occurring prior to August 15, 2001.
(b) Forcible or second degree rape (R.S. 14:42.1).
(c) Second degree sexual battery (R.S. 14:43.2).
(d) Aggravated kidnapping of a child who has not attained the age of thirteen years
(R.S. 14:44).
(e) Second degree kidnapping of a child who has not attained the age of thirteen
years (R.S. 14:44.1).
(f) Aggravated crime against nature as defined by R.S. 14:89.1(A)(2) involving
circumstances defined by R.S. 15:541 as an "aggravated offense".
(g) Aggravated crime against nature (R.S. 14:89.1(A)(1)).
(h) An offense under the laws of another state, or military, territorial, foreign, tribal,
or federal law which is equivalent to the offenses listed in Subparagraphs (a) through (g) of
this Paragraph.
B.(1) The persons listed in Subsection A of this Section shall register in person with
the sheriff of the parish of the person's residence, or residences, if there is more than one, and
with the chief of police if the address of any of the person's residences is located in an
incorporated area which has a police department. If the offender resides in a municipality
with a population in excess of three hundred thousand persons, he shall register in person
with the police department of his municipality of residence.
(2) The offender shall also register in person with the sheriff of the parish or parishes
where the offender is an employee and with the sheriff of the parish or parishes where the
offender attends school. If the offender is employed or attends school in a municipality with
a population in excess of three hundred thousand persons, then he shall register only,
pursuant to this Paragraph, with the police department of the municipality where he is
employed or attends school. The offender shall also register in the parish of conviction for
the initial registration only. No registration in the parish of conviction is necessary if the
offender is incarcerated at the time of conviction or immediately taken into custody by law
enforcement after the conviction.
(3) If the sex offender is a student at an institution of postsecondary education in this
state, the sex offender shall also register with the campus law enforcement agency of the
institution at least one business day prior to the beginning of the school term or semester.
C.(1) The offender shall register and provide all of the following information to the
appropriate law enforcement agencies listed in Subsection B of this Section in accordance
with the time periods provided for in this Subsection:
(a) Name and any aliases used by the offender.
(b) Physical address or addresses of residence.
(c) Name and physical address of place of employment. If the offender does not
have a fixed place of employment, the offender shall provide information with as much
specificity as possible regarding the places where he works, including but not limited to
travel routes used by the offender.
(d) Name and physical address of the school in which he is a student.
(e) Two forms of proof of residence for each residential address provided, including
but not limited to a driver's license, bill for utility service, and bill for telephone service. If
those forms of proof of residence are not available, the offender may provide an affidavit of
an adult resident living at the same address. The affidavit shall certify that the affiant
understands his obligation to provide written notice pursuant to R.S. 15:542.1.4 to the
appropriate law enforcement agency with whom the offender last registered when the
offender no longer resides at the residence provided in the affidavit.
(f) The crime for which he was convicted and the date and place of such conviction,
and if known by the offender, the court in which the conviction was obtained, the docket
number of the case, the specific statute under which he was convicted, and the sentence
imposed.
(g) A current photograph.
(h) Fingerprints, palm prints, and a DNA sample.
(i) Telephone numbers, including fixed location phone and mobile phone numbers
assigned to the offender or associated with any residence address of the offender.
(j) A description of every motorized vehicle registered to or operated by the offender,
including license plate number and vehicle identification number, and a copy of the
offender's driver's license and identification card. This information shall be provided prior
to the offender's operation of the vehicle.
(k) Social security number and date of birth.
(l) A description of the physical characteristics of the offender, including but not
limited to sex, race, hair color, eye color, height, age, weight, scars, tattoos, or other
identifying marks on the body of the offender.
(m) Every e-mail address, online screen name, or other online identifiers used by the
offender to communicate on the internet. If the offender uses a static internet protocol
address, that address shall also be provided to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
Required notice must be given before any online identifier or static internet protocol address
is used to communicate on the internet. For purposes of this Subparagraph, "static internet
protocol address" is a numerical label assigned to a computer by an internet service provider
to be the computer's permanent address on the internet.
(n)(i) Temporary lodging information regarding any place where the offender plans
to stay for seven or more days. This information shall be provided at least three days prior
to the date of departure unless an emergency situation has prevented the timely disclosure
of the information.
(ii) Temporary lodging information regarding international travel shall be provided
regardless of the number of days or nights the offender plans to stay. This information shall
be provided at least twenty-one days prior to the date of departure unless an emergency
situation has prevented the timely disclosure of the information. Upon receipt of this
information by the bureau from the law enforcement agency pursuant to Subsection E of this
Section, this information shall then be sent by the bureau to the United States Marshals
Service's National Sex Offender Targeting Center for transmission to the proper authorities.
(o) Travel and immigration documents, including but not limited to passports and
documents establishing immigration status.
(2) Unless an earlier time period is specified in the provisions of Paragraph (1) of
this Subsection, every offender required to register in accordance with this Section shall
appear in person and provide the information required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection
to the appropriate law enforcement agencies within three business days of establishing
residence in Louisiana. If the offender is a current resident of Louisiana and is not
immediately taken into custody or incarcerated after conviction or adjudication, he shall
provide the information on the date of conviction to the sheriffs of the parish where the
offender was convicted or adjudicated and shall, within three business days after conviction
or adjudication, provide the information to the sheriff of the parishes of the offender's
residence, employment, and school. If incarcerated immediately after conviction or placed
in a secure facility immediately after adjudication, the information required by Paragraph (1)
of this Subsection shall be provided to the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and
Corrections, or his designee, or the deputy secretary for youth services, or his designee,
whichever has custody of the offender, within ten days prior to release from confinement.
Once released from confinement, every offender shall appear in person within three business
days to register with the appropriate law enforcement agencies pursuant to the provision of
this Section. The offender shall register with the sheriff of the parish in which the residence
address he initially supplied to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections is located,
unless his residence address has changed and he has registered with the sheriff of the parish
in which his new residence address is located.
(3) Knowingly providing false information to any law enforcement officer, office,
or agency required to receive registration information pursuant to the provisions of this
Chapter shall constitute a failure to register pursuant to R.S. 15:542.1.4(A)(1).
D. The offender shall pay to the appropriate law enforcement agencies with whom
he is required to register, except for the campus law enforcement agency of an institution of
postsecondary education, an annual registration fee of sixty dollars to defray the costs of
maintaining the record of the offender. The payment of such a fee shall be made in
accordance with any rule regarding indigency adopted by the judges of the judicial district
court in the jurisdiction or as determined by criteria established by the Department of Public
Safety and Corrections. The offender shall pay such fee upon the initial registration and on
the anniversary thereof. Failure by the offender to pay the fee within thirty days of initial
registration shall constitute a failure to register and shall subject the offender to prosecution
under the provisions of R.S. 15:542.1.4(A)(3). The offender shall not be prevented from
registering in accordance with this Section for failure to pay the annual registration fee.
E. Upon receipt of the registration information as required by the provisions of this
Section, the law enforcement agency shall immediately forward such information to the
bureau electronically.
F.(1) Except as provided in Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Subsection, the sex
offender registration and notification requirements required by this Chapter are mandatory
and shall not be waived or suspended by any court. Any order waiving or suspending sex
offender registration and notification requirements shall be null, void, and of no effect. Any
order waiving or suspending registration and notification requirements shall not be construed
to invalidate an otherwise valid conviction.
(2) Upon joint written motion by the district attorney and the petitioner, the court of
conviction may waive sex offender registration and notification requirements imposed by the
provisions of this Chapter for a person convicted of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile
(R.S. 14:80) on, before, or after January 1, 2008, when the victim is at least thirteen years of
age and the offender was not more than four years older than the victim at the time of the
commission of the offense. Relief shall not be granted unless the motion is accompanied by
supporting documentary proof of the age of the victim and the age of the perpetrator at the
time of commission of the offense. If the court of conviction was not a Louisiana district
court, this joint motion may be brought in the district court of the parish of the offender's
residence after the bureau has made the determination, pursuant to the provisions of R.S.
15:542.1.3, on the grounds that the elements of the offense of conviction are equivalent to
the elements of R.S. 14:80. The court may grant the motion upon clear and convincing
evidence that the ages of the victim and offender at the time of commission of the offense
were within the limitations provided in this Section.
(3)(a) Any person who was convicted of carnal knowledge of a juvenile (R.S. 14:80)
prior to August 15, 2001, may petition the court of conviction to be relieved of the sex
offender registration and notification requirements of this Chapter if the offense for which
the offender was convicted would be defined as misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile
(R.S. 14:80.1) had the offender been convicted on or after August 15, 2001. Offenders
convicted of an offense under the laws of another state, or military, territorial, foreign, tribal,
or federal law may petition the district court of his parish of residence once the
administrative procedures of R.S. 15:542.1.3 have been exhausted, and the elements of the
offense of conviction have been found to be equivalent to the current definition of
misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile (R.S. 14:80.1).
(b) The following procedures shall apply to the provisions of this Paragraph:
(i) The petition shall be accompanied with supporting documentation to establish
that the age of the perpetrator and the victim at the time the offense was committed are
within the parameters set forth in R.S. 14:80.1.
(ii) The district attorney shall be served with a copy of the petition.
(iii) The court shall order a contradictory hearing to determine whether the offender
is entitled to be relieved of the registration and notification requirements pursuant to the
provisions of this Paragraph.
(c) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to any person who was convicted
of more than one offense which requires registration pursuant to the provisions of this
Chapter.
(4)(a) Any person who was convicted of crime against nature (R.S. 14:89) prior to
August 15, 2010, or the district attorney in the parish where the offender was convicted, may
file a motion in the court of conviction to relieve the offender of the sex offender registration
and notification requirements of this Chapter if the offense for which the offender was
convicted would be defined as crime against nature by solicitation (R.S. 14:89.2) had the
offender been convicted on or after August 15, 2010. Offenders convicted of an offense
under the laws of another state, or military, territorial, foreign, tribal, or federal law may file
a motion in the district court of his parish of residence once the administrative procedures
of R.S. 15:542.1.3 have been exhausted, and the elements of the offense of conviction have
been found to be equivalent to the current definition of crime against nature by solicitation
(R.S. 14:89.2). The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to persons whose
conviction for crime against nature pursuant to R.S. 14:89 involved the solicitation of a
person under the age of seventeen and would authorize sentencing of the offender pursuant
to R.S. 14:89.2(B)(3), had the offender been convicted on or after August 15, 2010.
(b) The motion shall be accompanied by supporting documentation to establish that
the person was convicted of crime against nature prior to August 15, 2010, and that the
offense for which the offender was convicted would be defined as crime against nature by
solicitation (R.S. 14:89.2) had the offender been convicted on or after August 15, 2010. If
the motion is filed by the offender and the district attorney objects, the district attorney shall
have the burden of proof by use of an affidavit that the person being solicited was under the
age of seventeen. If the motion is filed by the district attorney, an affidavit establishing that
the facts of the case and the underlying conviction meet these requirements shall be deemed
sufficient for the granting of relief.
(c) If the offender files a motion pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph, the
district attorney, office of state police, and the Department of Justice, shall be served with
a copy of the motion and any order granting relief. If the district attorney files a motion
pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph, the office of state police and the Department of
Justice shall be served with a copy of the motion and any order granting relief.
(d) If the supporting documentation described in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph
is provided and meets the requirements of Subparagraph (4)(b), relief shall be granted unless
the district attorney objects and provides supporting documentation proving that the offense
for which the person was convicted, and which requires registration and notification pursuant
to the provisions of this Chapter, involved the solicitation of a person under the age of
seventeen.
(e) If the district attorney proves by clear and convincing evidence that the conviction
for crime against nature pursuant to R.S. 14:89 involved the solicitation of a person under
the age of seventeen, the court shall deny the motion to be relieved of the sex offender
registration and notification requirements as provided by the provisions of this Paragraph.
(f) The provisions of this Paragraph shall not apply to any person who was convicted
of one or more offenses which otherwise require registration pursuant to the provisions of
this Chapter.

Legislative History

Acts 1992, No. 388, §1, eff. June 18, 1992; Acts 1995, No. 928, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1290, §2; Acts 1997, No. 134, §2; Acts 1997, No. 137, §2; Acts 1997, No. 928, §1, eff. July 10, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 1135, §1, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 1997, No. 1148, §2, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 930, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1150, §1; Acts 2001, No. 78, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1206, §§1 and 4; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 83, §1; Acts 2003, No. 215, §1; Acts 2003, No. 574, §1; Acts 2004, No. 338, §1; Acts 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 11, §1, eff. Jan. 21, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 204, §1; Acts 2006, No. 284, §1; Acts 2006, No. 663, §1; Acts 2006, No. 683, §1; Acts 2006, No. 791, §1; Acts 2007, No. 460, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 147, §1; Acts 2008, No. 273, §1; Acts 2008, No. 814, §1, eff. July 8, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 816, §1; Acts 2010, No. 400, §1; Acts 2011, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 18, §1; Acts 2011, No. 216, §1; Acts 2012, No. 402, §1; Acts 2013, No. 408, §1; Acts 2014, No. 602, §5, eff. June 12, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 184, §2; Acts 2015, No. 256, §2; Acts 2016, No. 375, §1.