Sex Crimes FAQ
Answers from a Lynnwood Sex Crime Lawyer
What Is a Sex Crime?
Sex crimes involve sexual acts or offenses that are sexual in nature. Sex crime offenders often force sexual activity on a person who is unwilling or unable to give consent. Other types of sex crimes, such as prostitution and indecent exposure, involve the exchange of sex for money or exposing one’s genitals in public. The common denominator for all sex crimes is that the crime involves sexual acts or is sexual in nature.
What Types of Behaviors Constitute Child Sexual Abuse?
Child sexual abuse includes a wide range of sexual behaviors that occur between an adult and a child. These sexual behaviors are intended to erotically arouse the adult, without consideration for the child. Behaviors that are sexually abusive often involve bodily contact (kissing, touching, fondling, oral, anal or vaginal intercourse) but other behavior can be considered sexual abuse even if physical contact isn’t made (genital exposure, verbal sexual pressure, sexual exploitation).
What Is Sex Offender Registration?
Individuals convicted of sex crimes in Washington are often required to register as sex offenders as part of their sentence. After being released from prison, a person must register with local law enforcement and revisit them at regular, specified intervals.
Sex offender registration is a way for law enforcement to keep track of sex offenders and is thought to reduce the number of repeat sexual offenders by monitoring their whereabouts.
What Happens if I Don’t Register as a Sex Offender?
If an individual is required to register as sex offender, but fails to do so, they can be charged with failure to register. Failure to register is a serious offense because it shows prosecutors, judges, and jurors that the defendant disregarded court orders. In their eyes, if a defendant disregards court orders, what other laws will they ignore? This is the main reason sex offenders charged with failure to register are punished harshly, because judges wish to prevent them committing further sex crimes.
Washington law classifies Sex Offenders on three levels:
- Level I: Low risk to re-offend within the community at large. Information shall be shared with other law enforcement agencies upon request, the Sheriff may disclose relevant, necessary and accurate information to any victim or witness to the offense and to any individual community member who lives near the residence of the sex offender. Level I sex offenders may not be the subject of general public notification.
- Level II: Moderate risk to re-offend within the community at large. Relevant, necessary and accurate information concerning risk Level II offenders may be disclosed to public and private schools, child day care centers, family day care providers, businesses and organizations that serve primarily children, women or vulnerable adults and neighbors and community groups near the residence where the offender resides, expects to reside, or is regularly found. Level II offenders may or may not be the subject of general public notification, depending upon the specific circumstances present.
- Level III: High risk to re-offend within the community at large. Relevant, accurate and necessary information concerning offenders classified as risk Level III may be disclosed to the public at large.
The lawyers at our Lynnwood firm provide clients with representation if they have been charged with failure to register.
