New Jersey has several laws in place pertaining to sex crimes committed against children, and Megan’s Law is an example of one of the laws most commonly referenced. Megan’s Law sets guidelines with regard to publicizing sex offenders, and if you receive a charge and conviction for a sexually based offense, the law asserts that you must register as a sex offender.
Per NJ.gov, Megan’s Law makes the following provisions with regard to sex offender registration and public notification.
Understanding Megan’s Law provisions
Megan’s Law dictates that you must register as a New Jersey sex offender if a judge or jury finds you guilty of a sex offense. You also have to do so if adjudicated delinquent or found not guilty by reason of insanity. The information you provide then becomes available to members of the public. Once you register as a sex offender, the state then uses a tier assessment scale to get a better sense of how likely you are to re-offend.
Understanding tier assessment in New Jersey
New Jersey recognizes three different tiers, with each tier indicating how likely you are to re-offend. Tier one means the chances of you reoffending are low. Tier two means you face a moderate risk of reoffending, while tier three indicates that you are likely to re-offend and commit another sexually-based offense. You must register as a sex offender regardless of which tier you fall under.
If authorities do not place you under arrest for any additional crimes, you have the option of applying to terminate your sex offender registration. However, you must wait at least 15 years from the date of your conviction or jail or prison release to apply for termination.
