§ 23-3-430 — Sex offender registry.

South Carolina § 23-3-430

• Jurisdiction: South Carolina
• Title 23: LAW ENFORCEMENT AND PUBLIC SAFETY
• Ch. 3: SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION

Text

(A) Any person, regardless of age, residing in the State of South Carolina who in this State has been convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to an offense described below, or who has been convicted, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity in any comparable court in the United States, or a foreign country, or who has been convicted, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity in the United States federal courts of a similar offense, or who has been convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity to an offense for which the person was required to register in the state where the conviction or plea occurred, shall be required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article. A person who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity shall not be required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article unless and until the person is declared to no longer be insane or is ordered to register by the trial judge. A person who has been convicted, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity in any court in a foreign country may raise as a defense to a prosecution for failure to register that the offense in the foreign country was not equivalent to any offense in this State for which he would be required to register and may raise as a defense that the conviction, plea, or finding in the foreign country was based on a proceeding or trial in which the person was not afforded the due process of law as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and this State. (B) For purposes of this article, a person who remains in this State for a total of thirty days during a twelve-month period is a resident of this State. (C)(1) For purposes of this article, a person who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any of the following offenses shall be referred to as a Tier I offender: (a) criminal sexual conduct in the third degree (Section 16-3-654); (b) kidnapping (Section 16-3-910) of a person eighteen years of age or older except when the court makes a finding on the record that the offense did not include a criminal sexual offense or an attempted criminal sexual offense; (c) incest (Section 16-15-20); (d) buggery (Section 16-15-120); (e) peeping, voyeurism, or aggravated voyeurism (Section 16-17-470); (f) a person, regardless of age, who has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere in this State, or who has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere in a comparable court in the United States, or who has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere in the United States federal courts of indecent exposure or of a similar offense in other jurisdictions is required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article if the court makes a specific finding on the record that, based on the circumstances of the case, the convicted person should register as a sex offender; (g) sexual intercourse with a patient or trainee (Section 44-23-1150); (h) administering, distributing, dispensing, delivering, or aiding, abetting, attempting, or conspiring to administer, distribute, dispense, or deliver a controlled substance or gamma hydroxy butyrate to an individual with the intent to commit a crime listed in Section 44-53-370(f), except petit larceny or grand larceny; (i) any other offense as described in Section 23-3-430(D); (j) any other offense required by Title I of the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-248), the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA); (k) obscene visual representation of child sexual abuse (Section 16-15-390). If the person is under eighteen years of age and was adjudicated in the family court, then the adjudicated minor is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article; (l) sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (Section 16-15-395), provided the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor. If the offender is under eighteen years of age and the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor, then the adjudicated minor is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article; (m) sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (Section 16-15-405), provided the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor. If the offender is under eighteen years of age and the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor, then the adjudicated minor is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article; or (n) sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (Section 16-15-410); provided the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor. If the offender is under eighteen years of age and the offense is related to a morphed image of an identifiable minor, then the adjudicated minor is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article. (2) For purposes of this article, a person who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any of the following offenses shall be referred to as a Tier II offender: (a) criminal sexual conduct in the second degree (Section 16-3-653); (b) engaging a child for sexual performance (Section 16-3-810); (c) producing, directing, or promoting sexual performance by a child (Section 16-3-820); (d) trafficking in persons (Section 16-3-2020) except when the court makes a finding on the record that the offense did not include a criminal sexual offense or an attempted criminal sexual offense; (e) criminal sexual conduct with minors, second degree (Section 16-3-655(B)). If evidence is presented at the criminal proceeding, or in any court of competent jurisdiction, and the court makes a specific finding on the record that the conviction obtained for this offense resulted from consensual sexual conduct, as contained in Section 16-3-655(B)(2), provided the offender is eighteen years of age or less, or consensual sexual conduct between persons under sixteen years of age, the convicted person is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article; (f) criminal sexual conduct with minors, third degree (Section 16-3-655(C)). If evidence is presented at the criminal proceeding, or in any court of competent jurisdiction, and the court makes a specific finding on the record that the conviction obtained for this offense resulted from consensual sexual conduct, as contained in Section 16-3-655(B)(2), provided the offender is eighteen years of age or less, or consensual sexual conduct between persons under sixteen years of age, the convicted person is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article; (g) criminal solicitation of a minor if the purpose or intent of the solicitation or attempted solicitation was to: (i) persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the person solicited to engage or participate in sexual activity as defined in Section 16-15-375(5); (ii) perform a sexual activity in the presence of the person solicited (Section 16-15-342); (h) violations of Article 3, Chapter 15, Title 16 involving a minor, except as otherwise provided in this article; (i) sexual exploitation of a minor, first degree (Section 16-15-395), except as otherwise provided in this article; (j) sexual exploitation of a minor, second degree (Section 16-15-405), except as otherwise provided in this article; or (k) sexual exploitation of a minor, third degree (Section 16-15-410), except as otherwise provided in this article. (3) For purposes of this article, a person who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any of the following offenses shall be referred to as a Tier III offender: (a) criminal sexual conduct in the first degree (Section 16-3-652); (b) criminal sexual conduct with minors, first degree (Section 16-3-655(A)); (c) criminal sexual conduct: assaults with intent to commit (Section 16-3-656); (d) kidnapping (Section 16-3-910) of a person under eighteen years of age except when the offense is committed by a parent; (e) criminal sexual conduct when the victim is a spouse (Section 16-3-658); (f) sexual battery of a spouse (Section 16-3-615); or (g) any offense listed or described in this section committed after the offender becomes a Tier I or Tier II offender. (D) Upon conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere of a person of an offense not listed in this article, the presiding judge may order as a condition of sentencing that the person be included in the sex offender registry if good cause is shown by the prosecution. (E) SLED shall remove a person's name and any other information concerning that person from the sex offender registry immediately upon notification by the Attorney General that the person's adjudication, conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere for an offense listed in subsection (C) was reversed, overturned, or vacated on appeal and a final judgment has been rendered. (F) If an offender receives a pardon for the offense for which he was required to register, the offender must reregister as provided by Section 23-3-460 and may not be removed from the registry except: (1) as provided by the provisions of subsection (E); or (2) if the pardon is based on a finding of not guilty specifically stated in the pardon. (G) If an offender files a petition for a writ of habeas corpus or a motion for a new trial pursuant to Rule 29(b), South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure, based on newly discovered evidence, the offender must reregister as provided by Section 23-3-460 and may not be removed from the registry except: (1) as provided by the provisions of subsection (E); or (2)(a) if the circuit court grants the offender's petition or motion and orders a new trial; and (b) a verdict of acquittal is returned at the new trial or entered with the state's consent.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1994 Act No. 497, Part II, SECTION 112A; 1996 Act No. 444, SECTION 16; 1998 Act No. 384, SECTION 1; 1999 Act No. 74, SECTION 1; 2000 Act No. 363, SECTION 2; 2004 Act No. 208, SECTION 14; 2005 Act No. 141, SECTION 2; 2008 Act No. 335, SECTION 16, eff June 16, 2008; 2010 Act No. 212, SECTION 3, eff June 7, 2010; 2010 Act No. 289, SECTION 8, eff June 11, 2010; 2012 Act No. 255, SECTION 5, eff June 18, 2012; 2015 Act No. 7 (S.196), SECTION 6.D, eff April 2, 2015; 2022 Act No. 221 (H.4075), SECTION 1, eff May 23, 2022; 2025 Act No. 57 (S.28), SECTION 2, eff May 22, 2025; 2025 Act No. 58 (S.29), SECTIONS 6, 7, eff May 22, 2025. Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, the amendments to (C)(1) and (C)(2) made by 2025 Act No. 57 and 2025 Act No. 58 were read together. (C)(1)(k) through (C)(1)(m), as added by 2025 Act No. 58, SECTION 6, were re-lettered as (C)(1)(l) through (C)(1)(n), respectively. Editor's Note 2022 Act No. 221, SECTION 8, provides as follows: "SECTION 8. This act is retroactive and shall apply to any resident of this State who currently is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the provisions of Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 23, and who meets the requirements set forth in the act." 2025 Act No. 57, SECTION 4, provides as follows: "SECTION 4. The State Department of Education, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the Attorney General's Office, as appropriate, shall develop and implement a policy to educate and notify students of the provision of this act. The State Department of Education must file a report as to the status of the adoption and implementation of the education policies under this act to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representative, by July 1, 2026." 2025 Act No. 57, SECTION 5, provides as follows: "SECTION 5. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective". Effect of Amendment The 2008 amendment, in subsections (F) and (G), in the introductory paragraph added "must reregister as provided by Section 23-3-460". The first 2010 amendment, 2010 Act No. 212, SECTION 3, added subsection (C)(23) relating to the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act; and made nonsubstantive changes. The second 2010 amendment, 2010 Act No. 289, SECTION 8, inserted paragraph (C)(17) and redesignated paragraphs (C)(17) to (C)(21) as paragraphs (C)(18) to (C)(22). The 2012 amendment in subsection (C), in item (4), substituted "16-3-655(A)" for "16-3-655(1)"; in item (5), added "(16-3-655(B))" and substituted "16-3-655(B)(2)" for "16-3-655(3)"; added item (6) relating to criminal sexual conduct with minors in the third degree; deleted former item (11) relating to committing or attempting lewd act upon child under 16; renumbered former items (7) through (10) as (8) through (11); and made other nonsubstantive changes. 2015 Act No. 7, SECTION 6.D, in (C)(17), substituted "16-3-2020" for 16-3-930". 2022 Act No. 221, SECTION 1, in (A), deleted "adjudicated delinquent for," in two places, "adjudicated delinquent," in three places, and in the third sentence, deleted "adjudication" following "raise as a defense that the conviction,"; rewrote (C); and in (D), deleted "adjudication of delinquency," following "Upon conviction," and substituted "prosecution" for "solicitor" at the end. 2025 Act No. 57, SECTION 2, added (C)(1)(k); in (C)(2)(h), inserted ", except as otherwise provided in this article"; and made other nonsubstantive changes. 2025 Act No. 58, SECTION 6, added (C)(1)(k) to (C)(1)(m) and made nonsubstantive changes. 2025 Act No. 58, SECTION 7, added (C)(2)(i) to (C)(2)(k) and made other nonsubstantive changes.