New bill would place certain minors on the Utah sex offender registry
Jan 4, 2023, 3:32 PM | Updated: 3:32 pm
This photo shows the Utah State Capitol in March, 2022. The Utah legislative session ended on a fiery note as lawmakers approved a bill that critics say unfairly targets an elected official. (Kira Hoffelmeyer, KSL Radio)
(Kira Hoffelmeyer, KSL Radio)
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah doesn’t require minors to register or follow sex offender guidelines, but a proposed bill in the 2023 Utah Legislative Session might change that.
Utah’s registry, the Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry, currently has around 7,000 registrants, something that H.B. 122 would surely change.
KSL’s Legal Analyst Greg Skordas said that Utah’s registry has historically been exclusively for adults, but HB122 would allow for juveniles to be added to the list, depending on the crime.
“Certain minors, who commit offenses that would be registerable sex offenses had they been adults, will be subject to the sex offender registry requirement.”
It contradicts Utah’s previous rehabilitation attempts for juveniles, which KSL’s Legal Analyst Greg Skordas said has proved effective.
“Historically in Utah, we treat juveniles as people that can be rehabilitated, people that can be changed, people that can be counseled. So putting them on a sex offender registry is a little bit contrary to that.”
Once a sex crime has been convicted, an individual is placed on the list for ten years. But if the crime involves a child, they are guaranteed to be on the list for life.
The bills also include clauses that would honor a registry from another state. And it defines what areas an offender can’t enter, including private pools in an HOA neighborhood.
The measure would also add human trafficking to the list of offenses that land a person on the registry.
Violation of the registry would result in a more severe penalty. What was a misdemeanor would become a felony. And what used to be serving ten years on the list, could be a lifetime.
