Sex Offender Registration

When I talk with clients facing sex offenses, the question most ask is not how much jail time I will do, but how do I survive if I have to register as a sex offender. In Louisiana, the reality is that sex offender registration is quite serious. There are currently 13,054 registered sex offenders in Louisiana. People who find their names on this list must comply with stringent Louisiana registration requirements. I often find clients out of compliance without realizing their errors. It is best to work with an attorney or with someone from probation and parole to ensure compliance with every aspect of the statutes.  

In Louisiana, the top five offenses which lead to registration are carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with juveniles, failure to register/notify as a sex offender, sexual battery, and molestation of a juvenile. 

The law defines these offenses as follows:

​ Carnal knowledge of a juvenile is defined in LA.R.S. 14:80 as a person over the age of 17 years having sexual intercourse, with consent, with a person who is 13 years of age or older but less than 17 years of age, when the victim is not the spouse of the offender and when the difference between the age of the victim and the offender is four years or greater.

Indecent behavior with a juvenile is defined in LA.R.S.14:81 as admission of any of the following acts with the intent of arousing or gratifying the sexual desires of either Pearson: 1. Any lude or lascivious act upon the person or in the presence of a child under the age of 17, where there is an age difference of greater than two years between the two persons. 2. The transmission, delivery, or utterance of any textual, visual, written or oral communication depicting lude or lascivious conduct, text, words, or images to any person reasonably believed to be under the age of 17 and reasonably believed to be at least two years younger than the offender.

Failure to notify/register as a sex offender is defined in  LA.R.S.15:542 as when an individual is a required sex offender and does not fulfill their obligations of sex offender notification. 

Sexual battery is defined in LA.R.S.14:43.1 as the intentional touching of the anus or genitals of the victim by the offender using any instrumentality or any part of the body of the offender, directly or through clothing, when the offender acts without the consent of the victim when: 1. The offender acts without the consent of the victim; or 2. The victim has not yet attained ten years of age and is at least three years younger than the offender; 3. The offender is 17 years of age or older, and he acts without the consent of the victim, and the victim is unable to resist because he is a paraplegic, quadriplegic, or otherwise physically incapable of preventing the act due to a physical disability or the victim is incapable, through unsoundness of mind or understanding of the nature of the act, and the offender knew or should have known of the victim’s incapacity; or the act is without consent of the victim, and the victim is 65 years of age or older.

Molestation of a juvenile is defined in LA.R.S.14:81.2 as the commission by anyone over the age of 17 of any lude or lascivious act upon the person or in the presence of a child under the age of 17, where there is an age difference of greater than two years between the two persons, with the intention of arousing or gratifying the sexual desires of either person, by the use of force, violence, duress, menace, psychological intimidation, threats of great bodily harm, or by the use of influence by virtue of a person of control or position of control or supervision over the juvenile. The statute will also apply if the victim is prevented from resisting based on the same factors of sexual battery. 

Keep in mind, in all of these statutes, the lack of the victim’s age is not a defense.

Where are the most sex offenders located?

​The largest concentration of sex offenders in Louisiana is East Baton Rouge Parish. Second on the list is Caddo Parish, then New Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, and, rounding out the top five, St. Tammany Parish. As you can see, especially based on population, Caddo Parish ranks at the top of the list.

Laws governing sex offenses often change; this blog references what is available in 2022. If you or someone you know has questions about sex offenses, what qualifies as a sex offense, or is arrested in Shreveport or Bossier City due to a sex offense charge, please do not hesitate to contact Criminal Defense Lawyer, Larrion L. Hillman at 318-549-9180.