Failure to Register as a Sex Offender
If you have been convicted of sexual assault charges or other criminal sexual behavior, you are usually required to register under Megan’s Law as a sex offender. Failure to properly register under Megan’s Law as a sex offender is considered a crime.
New Jersey Law
New Jersey requires any individual who has been convicted of a sex offense, adjudicated delinquent, or found not guilty by reason of insanity for a sex offense charge must register as a sex offender. For these purposes, a sex act is considered the following:
- The act or attempted act of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, or aggravated criminal sexual contact if the court has found that the conduct of the offender was considered compulsive, repetitive behavior.
- Any conviction, adjudication of delinquency, or acquittal by reason of insanity for aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, endangering the welfare of a child, luring or enticing, criminal sexual contact with a minor, kidnapping or false imprisonment of a minor, promoting the prostitution of a minor; or the attempt to commit any of these crimes.
Any individual who has been convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or found not guilty by reason of insanity for a criminal sex act, as outline above, must register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law Registration.
Failure to register as required is considered a Third Degree Offense. A conviction for failing to properly register can result in 3 to 5 years in State prison. Incarceration is likely in such a charge due to the likelihood of a record with a prior conviction. If you are facing a charge of failure to register as a sex offender, you should contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer at Ellis Law to defend you of these charges. Contact us online or call our offices at 888-355-4752 today.
