In this 2015 Juvenile case involving an adjudication for Unlawful Sexual Contact and Indecent Exposure, the Colorado Court of Appeals held off a challenge to Colorado’s requirement for the juvenile to comply with Sex Offender Registration.
In this case the a 15 years old at the time of the charged offenses, was adjudicated delinquent for acts that:
(if committed by an adult), would constitute misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact, attempted misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact, and two counts of indecent exposure.
The adjudication required the juvenile to register as a sex offender.
The juvenile – on appeal – attacked that requirement arguing that he did not have to register as a sex offender because:
(1) he met the criterion for the magistrate to exempt him from registration,
(2) the registration violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment, and
(3) the evidence was not sufficient to support the adjudication.
The Court held that because the juvenile was simultaneously adjudicated for BOTH unlawful sexual contact and indecent exposure, he did not meet the first offense criterion for the exemption to register statute – CRS § 16-22-103(5)(a)(III).
As importantly – and this is where the public’s reaction to this kind of holding is so very great – the Court held that because sex offender registration is not punishment, requiring him to register did not violate his constitutional rights.
Anyone with a child who is compelled to register as a sex offender knows exactly why this is not only not true – the damage to the child’s life cannot be understated – it is an outrage that the State of Colorado and almost every other state in the country adheres to this lie.
To read the entirety of this case with all of it’s specifics – please follow this link – 2015 COA 119. No. 14CA0622. People in the Interest of J.O.
