AG 96-03.

• Case Date: June 18, 1996
• Court: Rhode Island

Rhode Island Attorney General Opinions 1996. AG 96-03. OFFICIAL OPINION 96-03June 18, 1996George A. Vose, Jr.Director Department of Corrections 40 Howard Avenue Cranston, Rhode Island 02920 Dear Director Vose: I am pleased to respond to your letter of June 3, 1996 requesting an advisory opinion concerning the interpretation of R..I. Gen. Laws § 11-37-16 - "Registration of sex offenders". Your correspondence seeks clarification of the individuals affected by that law as well as the obligations of the Department of Corrections (the "Department") pursuant to the statute. Chapter 37 of Title 11 requires certain individuals to register as sex offenders. Those individuals are set forth and described in four different subsections of the statute, and consist of the following:

a. Any individual convicted since July 1, 1992 of any sexual assault crime set forth in §§ 11-37-1 et. seq., including any individual convicted in another state of a sexual assault which, if committed in Rhode Island, would violate Chapter 37. The offenses set forth in Chapter 37 include all degrees of sexual assault and child molestation, as well as assault with intent to commit first degree sexual assault. § 11-37-16(a). The Department has no specific statutory obligation to these individuals, unless and until these persons later fall within subsections (b) and (d) and § 11-37-16, as discussed below.

b. Any person discharged or paroled after July 1, 1992 from confinement in jail, prison or other institution (including a state hospital to which confined as a mentally disordered sex offender). § 11-37-16(b). The Department is required to inform all such individuals, upon their discharge or parole, of their duty to register, and must require all such individuals to read and sign a form advising the individual of the duty to register. The Department is further required to obtain the address where the discharged or paroled sex offender expects to reside and to report that address to the Attorney General. § 11-37-16(b). c. Any person convicted in Rhode Island after July 1, 1992 of commission or attempt to commit a sexual crime subject to §§ 11-37-1 et. seq., and who is released on probation or discharged upon payment of a fine. § 11-37-16(c). The court in which the person is convicted is required to advise the person to read and sign the form advising the individual...