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Searching 2023-2024 Session

The Vermont Statutes Online

The Vermont Statutes Online have been updated to include the actions of the 2023 session of the General Assembly.

NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.

Title 13 : Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Chapter 167 : Crime Victims

Subchapter 003 : Sex Offender Registration; Law Enforcement Notification

(Cite as: 13 V.S.A. § 5407)
  • § 5407. Sex offender’s responsibility to report

    (a) Except as provided in section 5411d of this title, a sex offender shall report to the Department as follows:

    (1) if convicted of a registry offense in another state, within 10 days after either establishing residence in this State or crossing into this State for purposes of employment, carrying on a vocation, or being a student, the sex offender shall provide the information listed in subsection 5403(a) of this title;

    (2) annually within 10 days after the registrant’s birthday, or if a person is determined to be a sexually violent predator, that person shall report to the Department every 90 days;

    (3) within three days after any change of address, or if a person is designated as a high-risk sex offender pursuant to section 5411b of this title, that person shall report to the Department within 36 hours, and shall report whether a child under the age of 18 resides at such address;

    (4) within three days after the registrant enrolls in or separates from any postsecondary educational institution;

    (5) within three days after any change in place of employment;

    (6) within three days of any name change;

    (7) within three days of a child under 18 years of age moving into the residence of the registrant;

    (8) within 24 hours of being released from probation, parole, furlough, or a supervised community sentence; and

    (9) prior to the offender’s scheduled release date from a correctional facility to the community and if the offender is not subject to probation, furlough, or a community sentence upon release that requires supervision by the Department of Corrections.

    (b) If a sex offender changes residence to another state, or crosses into another state for purposes of employment, carrying on a vocation, or being a student, the sex offender shall notify the Department of the new address and shall also register with the designated law enforcement agency in the new state not later than three days after establishing residence in the new state, if the new state has a registration requirement.

    (c) Upon a sex offender’s change of residence to another state, the Department shall immediately notify the designated law enforcement agency in the new state, if the new state has a registration requirement.

    (d) The report required by this section shall include the information required by sections 5403 and 5404 of this chapter.

    (e) Except as provided for in subsection (f) of this section, a person required to register as a sex offender under this subchapter shall continue to comply with this section, except during periods of incarceration, until 10 years have elapsed since the person was released from prison or discharged from parole, supervised release, or probation, whichever is later. The 10-year period shall not be affected or reduced in any way by the actual duration of the offender’s sentence as imposed by the court, nor shall it be reduced by the sex offender’s release on parole or ending of probation or other early release.

    (f) A person required to register as a sex offender under this subchapter shall continue to comply with this section for the life of that person, except during periods of incarceration, if that person:

    (1) has at least one prior conviction for an offense described in subdivision 5401(10) of this subchapter or a comparable offense in another jurisdiction of the United States;

    (2) has been convicted of a sexual assault as defined in section 3252 of this title or aggravated sexual assault as defined in section 3253 of this title, or a comparable offense in another jurisdiction of the United States, including a state, territory, commonwealth, the District of Columbia, or military, federal, or tribal court; however, if a person convicted under section 3252 is not more than six years older than the victim of the assault and if the victim is 14 years of age or older, then the offender shall not be required to register for life if the age of the victim was the basis for the conviction;

    (3) has been determined to be a sexually violent predator pursuant to section 5405 of this title; or

    (4) has been designated as a noncompliant high-risk sex offender pursuant to section 5411d of this title.

    (g) The Department shall adopt forms and procedures for the purpose of verifying the addresses of persons required to register under this subchapter in accordance with the requirements set forth in Section (b)(3) of the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act. Every 90 days for sexually violent predators and annually for other registrants, the Department shall verify addresses of registrants by sending a nonforwardable address verification form to each registrant at the address last reported by the registrant. The registrant shall be required to sign and return the form to the Department within 10 days of receipt. If the registrant’s name appears on the list of address verification forms automatically generated by the Registry, it shall be deemed that the sex offender has received that form.

    (h) A registrant who has no permanent address shall report to the Department to notify it as to his or her temporary residence. Temporary residence, for purposes of this section, need not include an actual dwelling or numbered street address, but shall identify a specific location. A registrant shall not be required to check in daily if he or she makes acceptable other arrangements with the Department to keep his or her information current. The Department may enter into an agreement with a local law enforcement agency to perform this function, but shall maintain responsibility for compliance with this subsection.

    (i) If the Department is notified by an offender that he or she is living with a child under the age of 18, the Department shall notify the Department for Children and Families within three days. (Added 1995, No. 124 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1996; amended 2001, No. 49, § 7, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; 2003, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 2005, No. 192 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. May 26, 2006; 2007, No. 77, § 7, eff. June 7, 2007; 2009, No. 1, § 15; 2009, No. 58, § 7; 2015, No. 1, § 2, eff. Feb. 25, 2015; 2015, No. 31, § 4.)