June 18, 2012

• Steven Topazio wrote this April 27, 2014 at 5:55 pm

The Client, a 40 year old with a criminal record which includes a sex offense in the State of Maine, was on probation in Massachusetts for failing to register as a sex offender here, was detained and held without bail when arrested again in Massachusetts for failing to register. The sex offender registration statute imposes different registration requirements on sex offenders depending on their circumstances and their classification level. For example, a sex offender moving into Massachusetts must initially register with the Sex Offender Registry Board on a Board-approved form within 2 days, while a sex offender moving out of Massachusetts need only “notify” the Board of his or her change of status within 10 days. Level 2 or 3 offenders must appear at the police department in the community where they live to verify their registration data or to notify the Board of certain changes in their status. Today, despite the probation departments request to commit the client for six months, Attorney Topazio was able to convince the Judge to re-probate his client only after agreeing to stipulate to a violation of lesser technical violations, instead of stipulating to failing to register.