H. B. 2409
(By Delegates Staton, Stemple, Varner
and Beane)
[Introduced February 21, 2001; referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and five, article
twelve, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating
to the sex offender registry; requiring registrants to
provide information about their internet accounts and screen
names; and including screen names in the community
notification program's publication of registry information
concerning sexually violent predators.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and five, article twelve, chapter fifteen
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-
one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT.
§15-12-2. Registration.
(a) The provisions of this article apply both retroactively
and prospectively.
(b) Any person who has been convicted of an offense or an
attempted offense or has been found not guilty by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction of an offense
under any of the following provisions of chapter sixty-one of
this code or under a similar provision in another state, federal
or military jurisdiction shall register as set forth in
subsection (d) of this section and according to the internal
management rules promulgated by the superintendent under
authority of section twenty-five, article two, chapter fifteen of
this code:
(1) Article eight-b, including the former provisions of
section six, article eight-b, providing for the offense of sexual
assault of a spouse;
(2) Article eight-c;
(3) Sections five and six, article eight-d;
(4) Section fourteen, article two; or
(5) Sections six, seven, twelve and thirteen, article eight.
(c) Any person who has been convicted of a criminal offense,
which at the time of sentencing was found by the sentencing judge
to have been sexually motivated, shall also register as set forth
in this article.
(d) Persons required to register under the provisions of
this article shall provide or cooperate in providing, at a
minimum, the following when registering:
(1) The full name of the registrant, including any aliases,
nicknames or other names used by the registrant;
(2) The address where the registrant intends to reside or resides at the time of registration, the name and address of the
registrant's employer or place of occupation at the time of
registration, the names and addresses of any anticipated future
employers or places of occupation, the name and address of any
school or training facility the registrant is attending at the
time of registration and the names and addresses of any schools
or training facilities the registrant expects to attend;
(3) The registrant's social security number;
(4) A full face photograph of the registrant at the time of
registration;
(5) A brief description of the crime(s) for which the
registrant was convicted; and
(6) Fingerprints; and
(7) Information relating to any internet accounts the
registrant has and the screen names, user names or aliases the
registrant uses on the internet.
(e) On the date that any person convicted or found not
guilty by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or
addiction of any of the crimes listed herein in subsection (b) of
this section, including those persons who are continuing under
some post conviction supervisory status, are released, granted
probation or a suspended sentence, released on parole, probation,
home detention, work release, conditional release or any other
release from confinement, the commissioner of corrections,
regional jail administrator, city or sheriff operating a jail, or secretary of the department of health and human services which
releases the person, and any parole or probation officer who
releases the person or supervises the person following the
release, shall obtain all information required by subsection (d)
of this section prior to the release of the person, inform the
person of his or her duty to register, and send written notice of
the release of the person to the state police within three days
of receiving the information. The notice shall must include the
information required by subsection (d) of this section.
(f) For any person determined to be a sexually violent
predator, the notice required by subsection (d) of this section
shall must also include:
(1) Identifying factors, including physical characteristics;
(2) History of the offense; and
(3) Documentation of any treatment received for the mental
abnormality or personality disorder.
(g) At the time the person is convicted or found not guilty
by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction in
a court of this state of the crimes set forth in subsection (b)
of this section, the person shall sign in open court, a statement
acknowledging that he or she understands the requirements imposed
by this article. The court shall inform the person so convicted
of the requirements to register imposed by this article and shall
further satisfy itself by interrogation of the defendant or his
or her counsel that the defendant has received notice of the provisions of this article and that the defendant understands the
provisions. The statement, when signed and witnessed, shall
constitute constitutes prima facie evidence that the person had
knowledge of the requirements of this article. Persons who have
not signed a statement under the provisions of this subsection
and who are subject to the registration requirements of this
article shall must be informed of such the requirement by the
state police whenever the state police obtain information that
the person is subject to registration requirements.
(h) The state police shall maintain a central registry of
all persons who register under this article and shall release
information only as provided in this article. The information
required to be made public by the state police by subdivision
(2), subsection (b), section five of this article shall is to be
accessible through the internet.
(i) For the purpose of this article, "sexually violent
offense" means:
(1) Sexual assault in the first degree as set forth in
section three, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of this code,
or of a similar provision in another state, federal or military
jurisdiction;
(2) Sexual assault in the second degree as set forth in
section four, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of this code, or
of a similar provision in another state, federal or military
jurisdiction;
(3) Sexual assault of a spouse as set forth in the former
provisions of section six, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of
this code, or of a similar provision in another state, federal or
military jurisdiction;
(4) Sexual abuse in the first degree as set forth in section
seven, article eight-b, chapter sixty-one of this code, or of a
similar provision in another state, federal or military
jurisdiction.
(j) For purposes of this article, the term "sexually
motivated" means that one of the purposes for which a person
committed the crime was for any person's sexual gratification.
(k) For purposes of this article, the term "sexually violent
predator" means a person who has been convicted or found not
guilty by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or
addiction of a sexually violent offense and who suffers from a
mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person
likely to engage in predatory sexually violent offenses.
(l) For purposes of this article, the term "mental
abnormality" means a congenital or acquired condition of a person
that affects the emotional or volitional capacity of the person
in a manner that predisposes that person to the commission of
criminal sexual acts to a degree that makes the person a menace
to the health and safety of other persons.
(m) For purposes of this article, the term "predatory act"
means an act directed at a stranger or at a person with whom a relationship has been established or promoted for the primary
purpose of victimization.
§15-12-5. Distribution and disclosure of information; community
information programs by prosecuting attorney and
state police; petition to circuit court.
(a) Within five working days after receiving any
notification as described in this article, the state police shall
distribute a copy of the notification statement to:
(1) The supervisor of each county and municipal
law-enforcement office and any campus police department in the
city and county where the registrant resides, is employed or
attends school or a training facility;
(2) The county superintendent of schools where the
registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a training
facility;
(3) The child protective services office charged with
investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect in the county
where the registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a
training facility;
(4) All community organizations or religious organizations
which regularly provide services to youths in the county where
the registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a
training facility;
(5) Individuals and organizations which provide day care
services for youths or day care, residential or respite care, or other supportive services for mentally or physically
incapacitated or infirm persons in the county where the
registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a training
facility; and
(6) The federal bureau of investigation (FBI).
(b) Information concerning persons whose names are contained
in the sexual offender registry and who are not required to
register for life shall is to be disseminated only in the
following manner and shall not be subject to the requirements of
the West Virginia freedom of information act, as set forth in
chapter twenty-nine-b of this code:
(1) When a person has been determined to be a sexually
violent predator under the terms of section two-a of this
article, the state police shall notify the prosecuting attorney
of the county in which the person resides, is employed or attends
a school or training facility. The prosecuting attorney shall
cooperate with the state police in conducting a community
notification program which shall is to include publication of the
offender's name, photograph, and place of residence, employment
and education or training, and internet screen names, user names
or aliases the offender uses, as well as information concerning
the legal rights and obligations of both the offender and the
community. The prosecuting attorney and state police may conduct
a community notification program in the county of residence,
employment or where a person is attending school or a training facility of any person who is required to register for life under
the terms of subdivision (2), subsection (a), section four of
this article. Community notification may be repeated when
determined to be appropriate by the prosecuting attorney;
(2) The state police shall maintain and make available to
the public at least quarterly the list of all persons who are
required to register for life according to the terms of
subdivision (2), subsection (a), section four of this article.
The method of publication and access to this list shall are to be
determined by the superintendent; and
(3) A resident of a county may petition the circuit court
for an order requiring the state police to release information
about persons residing in that county who are required to
register under section two of this article. The court shall
determine whether information contained on the list and is
relevant to public safety and whether its relevance outweighs the
importance of confidentiality, and if. If the court orders
information to be released, it may further order limitations upon
secondary dissemination by the resident seeking the information.
In no event shall may information concerning the identity of a
victim of an offense requiring registration be released.
(c) The state police may furnish information and
documentation required in connection with the registration to
authorized law-enforcement, campus police and governmental
agencies of the United States and its territories, of foreign countries duly authorized to receive the same, of other states
within the United States and of the state of West Virginia upon
proper request stating that the records will be used solely for
law enforcement-related purposes. The state police may disclose
information collected under this article to federal, state and
local governmental agencies responsible for conducting
preemployment checks.
(d) An elected public official, public employee or public
agency is immune from civil liability for damages arising out of
any action relating to the provisions of this section except when
the official, employee or agency acted with gross negligence or
in bad faith.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.