Sex offenders must register, says new law

A measure requiring mandatory registration for sex offenders on the island has been signed into law by Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio in what legislators hope would stem violence and abuse in the community.

Lawmakers are hoping that approval of the legislation would qualify the CNMI for federal assistance.

Sponsored by House Health, Education and Welfare Committee Chairman Heinz S. Hofschneider, Public Law 11-104 is actually an amendment to an earlier law setting up the registration scheme on the island.

The new law links the local program to two federal laws, including one that grants financial incentives for U.S. states and jurisdictions to establish effective registration system for child molesters and other sexually violent offenders.

Under the scheme, persons convicted of criminal offenses against minors or sexually violent offenses must inform the Department of Public Safety their whereabouts, such as address, for a minimum of 10 years.

These individuals include those convicted in the CNMI or from other states and jurisdictions, as well as nonresidents who are freed from prison, under probation or supervised release, or placed on parole.

However, sexually violent predators or those repeat offenders as determined by the court will be required to register for entire lifetime unless the conviction is reversed or the person is pardoned.

DPS must them come up with community notification flyer to alert residents about the presence of an offender in their neighborhood. Information included in the disclosure are current photograph, description, the criminal sex offense, age and gender of his victim and others.

These data which are kept confidential unless needed by law enforcement agencies, must also be updated in case of change in address or whether the offender plans to move off-island, after which DPS shall inform the agency where the person is moving.

They will also be included in the national data base being kept by the National Sex Offender Registry in accordance with guidelines issued by the U.S. Attorney General, including transmission of current address information, according to the law.

To enforce provisions of PL 11-104, penalties of up to two-month jail sentence or fine of $1,000 or both have been included to ensure registration of these individuals and compliance by government agencies.