Overview of SORB Process
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act first passed in 1996 and was subsequently amended on numerous occasions. G.L. c.6, §178C-Q. The act requires persons convicted or adjudicated of certain designated sex offenses within a certain time frame to register as former sex offenders.
There are two kinds of registration. The first kind requires registration with the Sex Offender Registry Board (the board or SORB) prior to a hearing. Pre-hearing registration is done by mail to SORB. No public dissemination of this registration information is permitted. The second kind of registration has requirements that start after a final classification (after hearing or waiver of hearing). Post-hearing registration occurs at a local police station for persons designated as at moderate (level 2) or high risk (level 3) of reoffending and with the board for persons designated as at low risk of reoffending (level 1). Level 2 and level 3 former offenders are subject to public dissemination of registration information.
An Individual required to register will receive two letters from the SORB. First, the Board will send a letter informing the former offender that he/she is being considered for classification and offering the former offender an opportunity to send any information he/she would like the board to consider on his/her behalf. The former offender will have 30 days from receipt of such notice to submit documentary evidence to the Board. Juveniles are entitled to appointed counsel as soon as the process begins and should consult with counsel prior to responding to the 30 day letter. Adult offenders are not entitled to counsel at this stage but should review the suggestions about how to respond to a 30 day letter that are included in the “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)” section below.
Upon reviewing all the evidence, the Board will determine a recommended classification level indicating whether the offender poses a low (level 1), moderate (level 2) or high (level 3) risk of reoffense.
In the second letter from the Board, the former offender will be notified of his/her recommended classification and will then have 20 days from the date of receiving the recommended classification notice to request a hearing on the classification. Indigent clients are entitled to an attorney. A former offender must file the affidavit of indigency that is included with the 20 day letter. If the board finds that the former offender is indigent, counsel will be appointed to represent him/her at the hearing. Failure to return the paperwork requesting a hearing within 20 days will result in a waiver of the right to a hearing and the recommended classification will become the final classification.
If the former offender requests a hearing, the Board will consider all evidence de novo and a final classification will only issue after the hearing in a final decision by the Board. If the former offender does not request a hearing, the Board’s recommended classification will become final.
The Board will send correspondence to the address listed on the former offender’s registration form. If a former offender cannot receive mail at his/her residential address, he/she should provide the board with a mailing address as well. It is important that a former offender open and read all correspondence from the board. Some mail requires a response within a short period of time.
The Board will not disseminate any information to the public until a former offender is finally classified after a hearing or has waived his/her hearing. It is possible that the Board may schedule a final classification hearing while the former offender is still in custody.
A final classification decision of the SORB may be appealed to the Superior Court. However any appeal must be filed within 30 days of receipt of the decision or the appeal is waived.
Registration Requirements After Final Classification
A former offender must register for a period of 20 years from the date of conviction or adjudication or the date of release from all custody and supervision, whichever occurs later. A former offender is required to register for life if found to be a sexually violent predator, have 2 or more Wetterling offenses [1] on different occasions or have been convicted of a sexually violent offense [2].
The registration requirements are as follows:
LEVEL 1
Registration and Verification:
At least two days prior to release from incarceration or custody, the former offender will be required to register by mail with the Sex Offender Registry Board. He/she must register annually, during the month of his/her birth, by mail with the Board on a form approved by the Board and verify by mail that his/her registration data remains true and accurate.
Change of Address: If the former offender changes his/her address or moves out of state, he/she must notify the Board in writing not less than 10 days prior to moving.
Homeless: A homeless former offender must register and verify his/her registration information every 30 calendar days.
Dissemination: The Board will not disseminate information to the public.
LEVEL 2
Registration and Verification:
If a former offender is incarcerated or in DYS custody, he/she must notify SORB in writing, at least 2 days prior to release of his/her intended addresses and register in person at the local police station within 2 days of release from custody if the pertinent address is not the same one as provided to the board 2 days prior to release.
The former offender must appear in person within two calendar days of the Board’s notification of his/her final classification level at the local police department where he/she resides; and annually, during the month of his/her birth, he/she must appear at his/her local police department to register and complete the verification form.
Change of Address: If the former offender changes his/her address or moves out of state, he/she must notify the Board in writing not less than 10 days prior to moving.
Homeless: He/she must appear in person at his/her local police department every 30 calendar days.
Dissemination: Dissemination of information to the public by request and publicly available on the internet (information will be posted on the internet for offenders classified after July 12, 2013).
LEVEL 3
Registration and Verification:
If the former offender is incarcerated or in DYS custody, he/she must notify SORB in writing, at least 2 days prior to release of his/her intended addresses and register in person at the local police station within 2 days of release from custody if his/her pertinent address is not the same one as he/she provided to the board 2 days prior to his/her release.
The former offender must appear in person within two calendar days of the Board’s notification of his/her final classification level at the local police department in the city or town where he/she resides; and annually, during his/her month of birth, he/she must appear at his/her local police department to register and complete the verification form.
Change of Address: If the former offender changes his/her address or moves out of state, he/she must notify the Board in writing not less than 10 days prior to moving.
Homeless: He/she must appear in person at his/her local police department every 30 calendar days.
Dissemination: Active dissemination of information publicly and on the internet.
FAILURE TO REGISTER
Failure to register, failure to verify registration information or failure to provide notice of a change of address may result in criminal charges pursuant to G.L.c. 6, section 178H. The criminal violation of failure to register carries penalties up to two and one-half years in a house of correction, five years in a state prison, a fine up to $1,000 or both fine and imprisonment, for the first offense. A second and subsequent conviction carries greater penalties.
RECLASSIFICATION TO HIGHER LEVEL
Pursuant to an amendment to the Sex Offender Registry statute that was enacted on July 1, 2013, SORB may seek to raise a former offender’s classification level based on “new information, which is relevant to a determination of a risk of re-offense or degree of dangerousness.” G.L. c. 6, section 178L (3).
Prior to July 1, 2013, the Appeals Court had held that SORB did not have the statutory authority to increase an offender’s classification level absent a new sex offense conviction. See; Doe 16748 v. SORB, 82 Mass. App. Ct. 152 (2012) (board’s regulation, 803 C.M.R. § 1.37C (3), allowing for reclassification absent a new sex offense conviction is invalid).
If SORB decides to raise a former offender’s classification level, the former offender will be notified and will have an opportunity to provide information to aid in the classification process. SORB will inform the former offender of his/her new recommended reclassification level and he/she will be able to request a hearing to challenge the increased classification level. If indigent, counsel will be appointed to represent him/her.
RECLASSIFICATION TO LOWER LEVEL, 803 CMR 1.31
A former offender may request that SORB reconsider his/her classification level and reclassify him/her at a lower level after three years have passed since the date of his/her final classification as a Level 2 or 3 sex offender. In order to file a written motion for reclassification at that time, the following conditions are necessary:
1. He/she has been offense free for more than three continuous years since his/her release from incarceration;
2. He/she has not committed or been convicted of a new sex offense since his/her classification hearing; and
3. New and updated information proves that his/her risk of reoffense and degree of dangerousness has been reduced.
If the former offender experiences a material change in circumstances related to a medical condition, he/she may file a motion for reclassification sooner than five years after the date of his/her prior classification. However, he/she will need to support this motion with an affidavit from a treating medical provider.
The board may deny his/her motion for reclassification if he/she is incarcerated, on community supervision or has pending criminal charges. The board may also deny the former offender’s motion if the last classification decision is under judicial review, on appeal or on review by the board pursuant to a remand.
If a former offender has been convicted of a new sex offense, he/she may not seek reclassification sooner than ten years from the date of the last classification decision.
EARLY TERMINATION OF REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT, 803 CMR 1.30
If it has been at least ten years following conviction, adjudication or release from all custody or supervision (whichever is later), a former offender may be eligible to file a request for termination of his/her registration requirement with SORB as long as the following conditions have been met:
1. There is no pending judicial review, appeal or Board review of his/her final classification;
2. There are no pending charges and the former offender is not incarcerated at the time of the request;
3. The former offender has not been determined to be a sexually violent predator;
4. He/she has not been convicted of two or more sex offenses involving a child as defined by G.L.C 6, s. 178c committed on different occasions;
5. He/she has not been convicted of a sexually violent offense;
6. He/she has not been convicted of a sex offense involving a child (or he/she was convicted of a sex offense involving a child and has already been registered for at least ten years);
7. He/she has not committed a sex offense within ten years following the date of conviction, adjudication or release from custody or supervision, whichever last occurs; and
8. New and updated information establishes that he/she is not likely to pose a danger to the safety of others.