JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Sex offenders and predators will face new reporting requirements starting Wednesday.
It’s part of a new state law that aims to ensure offenders don’t slip through the cracks. Passed earlier this year, it will require sex offenders and predators to report new vehicles within 48 hours.
The same goes for any change in employment.
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Local criminal defense attorney Chris Carson said he’s not surprised by the changes, as reporting requirements for sex criminals have been getting stronger in recent years.
“They’re trying to just kind of do away with those little grey areas and really make it all very black and white in terms of what is expected and what is required,” said Carson.
One of the biggest changes, Carson noted, is a new requirement for sex criminals to report travel residences, which are defined as a place where a person stays for three or more days in a single calendar year.
“If somebody goes to a hotel for an extended weekend under these changes, that potentially would require that basically you lodge that and fill out the appropriate documentation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and all that. That would all be required,” said Carson.
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Penalties for violating the new reporting requirements are severe, constituting a 3rd degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
“We certainly place a high value on ensuring that these types of individuals are not in positions where they have the ability to kind of skirt the law, to be around children or really just to do things that the government is not aware of,” said Carson. ”I mean, it’s very intrusive when it comes down to it in terms of what is required of people who are on the registry. The law is written like that for a reason.”
The new law will also put some of the onus on local law enforcement to keep tabs on sex criminals, requiring agencies to verify sex offenders’ addresses once per year and sexual predators’ addresses four times a year.
ALSO IN EFFECT OCTOBER 1:
- Law will require landlords to disclose flood history
- Law named after local football player killed in wrong-way DUI crash to increase offender penalties
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