Laws and punishments regarding sex crimes often focus on rehabilitating offenders and preventing them from repeating their actions. However, most of the public view these people as predators, making life difficult for them.
Here is more on the laws surrounding these crimes.
State laws
What gets someone listed on the Sex and Violent Offender Registry differs in each jurisdiction. That said, there are a few that are throughout the state. These include:
- Rape
- Sexual assault
- Marital rape
- Child pornography
- Exploiting minors
- Molestation
Other typical things include crimes against nature and moral order. The additions that are at the local level are often designed to address particular problems. For example, if there are many teacher-student offenses, a jurisdiction can add a crime to address that.
Official registry
The state and federal governments have sex offender registries. These databases contain information on convicted offenders. Anyone convicted of this type of crime must register with their state and federal government or face additional charges.
Individuals on this list also cannot live within certain distances of a school and must keep their addresses up-to-date. Failing to do so lands these individuals back in prison. Failing to abide by these registration laws is a criminal act.
Computer usage
Both state and federal laws now accommodate sex crimes that use the internet. For example, states prohibit the distribution of digital child pornography, and federal laws prohibit the distribution of this content across state lines via the internet.
Sex crimes range widely from indecent exposure to rape. However, all of them demand the listing of individuals on the state registry. Therefore, it is necessary for anyone facing this type of charge to fight the accusation, so they do not face permanent labels.