8 Common Probation Conditions for Sex Offenders
If you are granted probation as part of your sentence in California, there will be some standard conditions you will need to follow. For example, you may be ordered to stay in the county unless you have permission from your probation officer. Failing to follow any of these conditions could result in your probation being revoked and being sentenced to jail or prison time.
If your conviction was for a sex crime, there may be additional probation conditions that you will be expected to observe. Here are some conditions you may have to follow if you are placed on probation for a sex offense.
-
You May Not Be Able to Live Where You Please
Until recently, California law required sex offenders, regardless of the severity of the crime for which they were convicted, to live no closer than 2,000 feet from any school, park, or other place where children gather.
However, the courts have ruled that this blanket restriction was too broad, and probation officers now review housing on a case-by-case basis. This means your probation officer can prevent you from living where you want if he or she concludes that you are a potential danger to children.
-
No Internet
If your sex crime involved the use of a computer, such as using the internet to download or distribute child pornography, a probation condition may be that you cannot have access to the internet or a computer, or that you have limited access.
-
No Roommates Who are Registered Sex Offenders
Probation for sex offenses usually includes the requirement that you avoid living with another sex offender unless that person is legally related to you by blood, marriage or adoption. This condition generally does not apply if you are living in a residential treatment facility that houses registered sex offenders.
-
You May Have to Disclose Who You are Dating
In some cases, you may be required to inform your probation officer if you begin dating a new person. Other cases may only require that you disclose a new relationship if the person you are dating a parent of a minor child. However, because of a recent case where the California Court of Appeal found that such a restriction could be unconstitutionally vague, the court must impose the restriction in a manner that is precise and closely tailored to the purpose of the condition.1
-
Stay Away from Minors
While standard probation conditions restrict you from having contact with any victims of your crime, a conviction for a sex offense may keep you from contacting a general category of persons, such as minors. Much like the restrictions on where you live, you may not be able to go to places like schools or playgrounds where children are likely to gather.
-
You May Have to Find a Job
All probation sentences generally require that you remain employed, but if you are on probation for a sex offense, your probation terms may prevent you from working in your chosen profession. For example, if you are a teacher who has been convicted of a sex crime involving a minor, you may be prevented from working in a classroom, and will have to find a line of work that doesn’t involve children.
-
You Will Have to Submit to Lie Detector Tests
California Penal Code Section 1203.067 mandates that sex offenders convicted of certain crimes be placed in a sex offender management program. As part of that program, your right to remain silent will essentially be waived. While you are going through this program, you may be forced to sit for a polygraph test about your mental state and recent actions. If you lie about or admit to violating probation, you could face harsh consequences.
-
Operation Boo: No Halloween
On Halloween, you will be required to observe a curfew and remain indoors between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. You will also be required turn off all exterior lights, refrain from placing any Halloween decorations outside, and you cannot offer Halloween candy to children who knock on your door.
In fact, you can only open your door to law enforcement officers, who might patrol your neighborhood to ensure that you are complying with the rules in place for Operation Boo.
Contact the Sex Crimes Defense Attorneys at Wallin & Klarich
If you are accused of a sex crime, you face severe penalties that will affect you for the rest of your life. That is why you should speak to an experienced sex crimes attorney immediately if you have been arrested for a sex crime. At Wallin & Klarich, our skilled team of attorneys has been successfully defending our clients accused against sex crimes charges for more than 35 years. Let us help you now.
With offices in Orange County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Torrance, West Covina, Victorville and San Diego, there is an experienced Wallin & Klarich sex crimes defense attorney available to help you no matter where you are located.
1. People v. Klatt (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 906. href=”#ref1″>↩
