Sex Offender Registry
Board
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current status of the Sex Offender
Registry?
Can a member of the public find out about sex
offenders on the registry?
Once a person receives registry information,
may he/she share that information with others?
Are there any restrictions as to what a
member of the public may do with sex offender information?
Who is Megan (i.e. 1-800-93Megan)?
How can a member of the public learn more
about the Sex Offender Registry?
1. What is the current status
of the Sex Offender Registry?
- The Sex Offender Registry Board is now able to
follow all of the requirements of the Sex Offender Registry Law. On
June 28, 2001, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC")
decided Roe v.
Attorney General, 434 Mass. 418 (2001) in which the Court concluded
that the Sex Offender Registry ("Board") can require an
offender to provide his or her home and work address prior to providing
the offender a hearing to determine whether or not the offender had to
register. In addition, the SJC concluded that the Board can
transmit this data, and other data regarding the offender, to police
departments prior to the offender having the opportunity to challenge the
recommended classification at an administrative hearing. Police
departments, however, cannot disseminate this information to the public
until the Board classifies the offender and the offender has an
opportunity to challenge that recommended classification at an
administrative hearing. The SJC's decision reversed a Superior Court
judge's November 5, 1999 order that prohibited the Board from requiring an
offender to register until the Board offered him/her the opportunity for a
hearing to determine whether he/she poses a danger to children or other
vulnerable persons.
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2.What is the Sex Offender
Registry Board and what does it do?
- The Sex Offender Registry Board
(Board) consists of seven members appointed by the Governor. The Board
must include at least one person with experience and knowledge in the
field of criminal justice who shall act as chairperson; at least two
licensed psychologists or psychiatrists with special expertise in the
assessment and evaluation of sex offenders and who have knowledge of the
forensic mental health system; at least one licensed psychologist or
psychiatrist with special expertise in the assessment and evaluation of
sex offenders, including juvenile sex offenders and who has knowledge of
the forensic mental health system; at least two persons who have at least
five years of training and experience in probation, parole or corrections;
and at least one person who has expertise or experience with victims of
sexual abuse.
- The Board is a public safety agency responsible
for protecting vulnerable members of our communities from sex offenders. The
Board is responsible for promulgating guidelines for determining a sex
offender's level of risk of reoffense and the degree of dangerousness
posed to the public, as well as providing relief from the obligation to
register. In addition, the Board is responsible for developing guidelines
for use by city and town police departments in disseminating sex offender
registry information.
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3. Can a member of the public
find out about sex offenders on the registry?
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4. Once a person receives
registry information, may he/she share that information with others?
- Yes. The law does not prohibit secondary
dissemination. As long as the information was obtained in accordance with
the law, there is no prohibition against the information being shared with
others.
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5. Are there
any restrictions as to what a member of the public may do with sex offender
information?
- Information contained in the Sex Offender
Registry shall not be used to commit a crime against a sex offender or to
engage in illegal discrimination or harassment of an offender. Any person
who improperly uses Sex Offender Registry Information will be punished by
not more than two and one-half years in the house of correction or by a
fine of not more than $1,000 or both such fine and imprisonment.
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6. Who is Megan (i.e.
1-800-93Megan)?
- Megan Kanka was a seven-year-old girl from New
Jersey who was raped and murdered in July 1994 by a convicted sex offender
that lived across the street. In light of this horrible incident, Congress
passed an amendment to the Violent Crime Control Act and Law Enforcement
Act entitled "Megan's Law." This federal law requires each state
to establish some form of sex offender community notification.
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7. How can a member of
the public learn more about the Sex Offender Registry?
- The Board will offer various trainings for law
enforcement, school officials, day care providers, and other segments of
the public at large concerning sex offender information and the Sex
Offender Registry. In addition, you may call the Sex Offender Registry
Board directly at (978) 740-6400 or (800) 93MEGAN.
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