HCS/SS/SCS/SBs 214, 124, 209 & 322 - This act revises various provisions regarding sex offenders and pornography.

COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION: The act allows for community notification regarding certain registered sex offenders. The act provides immunity for release of information by law enforcement and by employees of the Departments of Corrections, Public Safety, and Social Services. Prior to releasing a sex offender, the Department of Corrections is required to perform a risk assessment of any offender required to register as a sex offender. The act tailors the extent of any community notification to the assessment results. This provision is similar to SB 124.

REGISTRATION OF OFFENDERS: Currently, the law requires that any person to whom the registration requirements apply "shall, within ten days of coming into any county, register..." The act clarifies the provision so that it encompasses any person who meets the registration requirements.

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY: The act increases the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony; if the defendant has pleaded or been found guilty of a prior Chapter 566, RSMo, offense, the penalty is a Class C felony. This provision was contained in SB 214.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS: Currently, a crime which is a Class A felony has no statute of limitations, meaning a prosecution may be commenced at any time when a suspect is apprehended. This act removes the statute of limitations for the crimes of rape and sodomy, currently unclassified felonies and therefore subject to a 3-year statute of limitation. A provision was added to clarify the law is not retroactive. This provision is similar to SB 209.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT: The act increases the penalty for sexual misconduct in the second degree (exposing genitals) if the offender has previously pled guilty to or been convicted of the crime more than two times, from an Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony. This provision is identical to SB 322.
JOAN GUMMELS