State registry keeps track of records on sexual offenders

 david.frank at exhibitAnews.com

A controversial law on the books in Massachusetts requires individuals convicted of certain sexual crimes to register with the state Sex Offender Registry Board, or SORB.

Under the law, a sex offender is “any person who resides, works or attends an institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth and who has been convicted of a sex offense.”

According to the Executive Office of Public Safety, currently more than 9,300 of these people are registered in Massachusetts.

Offenses that require a person to register with the SORB include:

•  rape;

•  indecent assault and battery;

•  kidnapping of a child;

•  inducing a minor into prostitution;

•  incest;

•  disseminating harmful materials to a minor;

•  posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity; and

•  possession of child pornography.

When an offender registers, he or she must provide fingerprints, a photograph, date of birth, Social Security number, address, physical description and a summary of the crime.

Failure to register as a sex offender is a felony and is punishable by up to five years in prison for a first offense.

Information on moderate- and high-risk sex offenders can be obtained by anyone 18 years or older at a local police department; it is a crime to use that information for illegal purposes or to harass an offender.