A Look at the Texas Sex Offender Registration Program

Posted By The Law Offices of Jeffrey C. Grass || 10-Apr-2014

The Texas Sex Offender Registration Program was designed to protect the public from sexual offenders by requiring adult and juvenile offenders to register with a local law enforcement agency. If the offender doesn’t reside in a city, then he or she needs to register with local law enforcement in the county in which he or she permanently resides. In addition to providing their name and address, registered sex offenders are required to provide the law enforcement agency with a current color photograph.

Registration

The Texas Sex Offender Registry contains the sex offender’s name, address, photograph, and the offense for which he or she was convicted. Periodically, registered sex offenders need to report to their local law enforcement agencies to ensure that all of the information contained in the registry is accurate and current. If any changes occur, then he or she needs to report the changes to the local law enforcement agency. Failing to comply with these registration requirements can result in felony prosecution.

Public notification

The public is notified of registered Texas sex offenders in a variety of ways. To begin, the Texas Department of Public Safety maintains a statewide sex offender registration database, which houses all information provided to local law enforcement authorities by sex offenders. Texas state law dictates that most information contained in the database should be available to the public. As a result, the public can access the registry information at any time through the Texas Department of Public Safety’s official website.

Published information

Some Texas law enforcement agencies have established local websites to help the public check for sex offenders residing in their community. In addition, local law enforcement agencies are allowed to publish certain registered sex offenders’ information in a newspaper or other community periodical.

Not only can a sex crime charge result in a lengthy jail sentence, but it also carries the social stigma surrounding such accusations. If you’re being charged with a sex crime in Texas, contact the Law Offices Of Jeffrey C. Grass at . Our criminal defense attorneys represent those accused of state and federal sex crimes.