Missouri Sex Offenses And Why They Are Different

A sex offense is a class of sexual conduct that the law prohibits. Sex offenses have collateral consequences on both the victim and the offender. For the victim, the injury done generally transcends mere physical trauma. For this reason, the Missouri State laws have put in place regulations to protect the victims from further assault and secure public safety from the hands of such offenders. In Missouri, everyone who gets convicted of a sex offense must register with the state. The registration process collects necessary information that will help identify the offender. The government subsequently puts this information in public view.

To put it differently, a sex offender is a marked person. The severity of the offense often determines the severity of the penalties given to the offender. The Missouri State laws provide a definition and direction for sex offenses and their penalties, respectively.

What is Missouri Sex Crime?

A Missouri sex crime refers to all forms of sexual acts that contravene the law’s rules of consent and correctness. The state law interpretation of a sex crime aligns with that of federal regulations. It means that a sex crime can face prosecution from both state and federal authorities.

What are the Different Types of Sex Offenses?

According to the Missouri State laws, categories of sex crimes typically include:

• Rape: there are felony grades of rape according to Missouri law:
  • First-degree rape: according to the law, first-degree rape happens when a person has sexual intercourse with someone incapable of consent, incapacitated, or with the use of force. First-degree rape is a class A felony that attracts a prison term of not less than five years. The presence of adjoining crimes might extend the sentence to life or a period of not less than 15 years. For example, a rape case where the victim is less than 12 years of age attracts a life sentence without parole. Another is the aggravated sexual offense. The defendant commits the crime with some physical brutality, is guilty of a repeat offense, gang-rape, or sexual intercourse with a relative or adoptee. A unique definition, according to Missouri laws, is first-degree statutory rape. It happens when a person has sexual intercourse with a person under 14 years of age. The same rule of sentence extension applies in statutory rape should there be the inclusion of the adjacent crimes afore listed. 
  • Second-degree rape: sexual intercourse with another person with the awareness that it is without consent. It is a class A felony that attracts a maximum prison sentence of seven years and up to $10000 in fines. 
• Sodomy refers to deviate sexual intercourse with someone who cannot consent, is incapacitated, or is used by use of force. Sodomy is first-degree sodomy. Second-degree sodomy engages the victim in deviate sexual activity without consent. The penalty for both is a prison term of not less than five years, unless adjacent crimes may extend the sentence may be extended. Such adjacent crimes include aggravated sexual offenses where the victim is a minor or the act took place in an outrageous or inhumane manner.
• Child molestation: first-degree child molestation involves subjecting a child less than 14 years of age to an aggravated sexual offense. Second-degree child molestation consists in subjecting a child less than 12 years of age to sexual contact or someone four years younger and less than 17 years of age to an aggravated sexual offense. It is a class A felony with an attendant sentence of not less than ten years in prison. If the victim is under 12 years old, the prison term shall be without probation, parole, or conditional release eligibility.
• Sexual misconduct involving a child: all sex crimes under this category have a commonality of the offender being deliberate in their action. Actions include exposing private parts to children under 15 years to create alarm or gratify sexual desire, and exposing the child’s genitals by luring or coercion. This crime is a class E felony with a maximum term of 4 years and $10000. Repeat offenses of the same kind scale up to a class D felony, which extends the sentence by three more years. 
• Sexual contact with a student: here, the presupposed role of the defendant defines the crime. It involves persons having authority or responsibility for a minor, such as a teacher, school employee, school volunteer, or school representative. It is a class E felony.
• First and second-degree sexual misconduct: all sexual misconduct involving adults comes under this category. A first-degree case is when an individual exposes another adult to sexual malpractices to cause alarm or affront. Second-degree sexual misconduct requires the offender to solicit another’s cooperation to engage in sexual conduct under circumstances that he or she knows can cause alarm. Sexual misconduct in Missouri is a class B misdemeanor with an attendant prison term of not over six months and a fine of $1000. The presence of a previous conviction scales it up to a class A misdemeanor with a sentence of 1 year and a maximum fine of $2000. Second-degree sexual misconduct is a class C misdemeanor, with a maximum imprisonment of 15 days and a $750 fine. 
• Statutory sodomy: all forms of deviate sexual intercourse come under this category. First-degree offenses involve a victim less than 14 years of age, while second-degree offenses involve an individual less than 17 years of age, and the defendant is 21. It is a class D felony that attracts maximum imprisonment of 7 years and a fine of $10000.
• Sexual abuse: all forms of sexual contact that the offender subjects another person to come under this category. First-degree sexual abuse is a class C felony with a maximum sentence of 10 years and not less than three years, along with a $10000 fine. First-degree cases usually engage incapacitated victims in some form or the other, or the use of force. Second-degree sexual abuse is a class A misdemeanor with a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of $2000. In the presence of an aggravated sexual offense, it scales up to a class E felony, which attracts four years in prison and a maximum fine of $10000.

Sex Offender Levels of Classification in Missouri

Missouri operates an offense-based sex offender registry. There are three tiers of sex offender registrations in Missouri. Before 2018, the Missouri laws treated all sex offenders alike, irrespective of their crimes. Only recently, the sex offender registry became stratified based on the severity of the crime into three levels:

• Level 1: These offenses are the least severe and require that the offender register annually. By the 10th year, the offender can apply to have their name removed from the register.
• Level 2: offenses require a twice-yearly update for at least 25 years
• Level 3: This category represents the most severe offenses and requires registration every three months for a lifetime.

All sex offenders must register with the local enforcement authority within three days of release from prison. The same rule applies to sex offenders in other states who are moving into Missouri. Some penalties that attend failure to register range from increasing the registration frequency to a minimum sentence of 10 years. When such persons complete their sentence, they must wear a GPS monitoring device for the rest of their lives.

How Do I Find A Sex Offender Near Me in Missouri?

When the state authorities have a sex crime case on their hands, they generate records at every point of the process. These records usually contain names, descriptions, and addresses of sex offenders. For example, the sheriff’s department of each county maintains a register of sex offenders residing in the area. A visit to the office on business days will provide access to the list of registered sex offenders. The same information is available at the courthouse office where the case was heard.

Missouri Sex Offender Registry

The Missouri Highway State Patrol maintains a centralized sex offender registry for the state. Data in this registry comes from the county sex offender registries across the state. This database is available online for anyone wishing to search the offender list. Users can also subscribe to email alerts, which will notify them of a sex offender when they move into their neighborhood. The contents of the registration include:

• The full names and aliases of the offender
• Their address or any other place where they spend considerable time
• Details about employment or education, if still studying
• A physical description such as the color of eyes, hair, complexion, height, tattoos/scars, if any, and gender.
• Vehicle registration information and a copy of their photo.

Records that are considered public may also be accessible from some third-party websites. These websites streamline the inquiry process since they aggregate records from various geographic locations and allow users to perform multi-record searches. To search using a third-party site, interested parties are typically expected to provide:

• The name of the person involved in the record, unless said person is a juvenile
• The location or assumed location of the document or person involved

These sites operate independently of government sources and are not sponsored by government agencies. Thus, the accuracy and validity of these records may not be guaranteed. 

What are the Sex Offender Restrictions in Missouri?

Megan’s Law, Adam Walsh’s Law, the Jacob Wetterling Act, Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking Law, and the Campus Sex Crimes Prevention Act all form the undercurrent of offender restrictions in Missouri. Besides mandating them to register, they face employment restrictions in institutions that require contact with children or vulnerable groups. Level 3 sex offenders are not allowed to get housing within a 1000-kilometer distance from a school, public swimming pool, or public park. They cannot take up employment elsewhere within 500 meters of a child care facility or school up to the 12th grade.