Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Florida has some of the strictest sex crime laws in the country, and that includes enforcement of the sex offender registry. Failure to follow all your registration obligations with precision can have extremely harmful consequences. A notification violation may be a felony crime, carrying a penalty of as much as 15 years in prison. With so much at stake, it is essential to understand your rights and your obligations if you are placed on (or are considering a plea deal that involves) the sex offender registry. If you have questions, be sure to talk to an experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense lawyer to secure the reliable answers you need.
The state vigorously pursues and prosecutes these matters, whether you are an ordinary citizen or, as was the case recently, a famous celebrity.
Lawrence Taylor, a football Hall of Famer who played for the New York Giants, was the offender at the center of a failure-to-notify case recently. The state charged him with violating Section 943.0435 of the Florida Statutes. That law mandates that sex offenders must update the state within 48 hours if any of their personal information changes.
The list of personal information covered by this statute is lengthy, including:
- name
- date of birth
- social security number
- race
- sex
- height
- weight
- tattoos or other identifying marks
- hair and eye color
- employment information
- address (or if he or she has no permanent or temporary address)
- address, location or description, and dates of any current or known future temporary residence
- make, model, color, vehicle identification number (VIN), and license tag number of all vehicles owned
- home telephone numbers and cellular telephone numbers
- electronic mail addresses
- Internet identifiers and each Internet identifier’s corresponding website homepage or application software name.
The above list is illustrative but not exhaustive. (The full list in the statute is actually much longer.)
Second- or Third-Degree Felony Charges for Violations
Penalties for these violations can vary but all are steep. Some instances — such as telling the state you are moving out of state but then failing to provide notification that your plans to move away changed and you are staying in Florida – constitute a second-degree felony. Most violations are classified as third-degree felonies. (Second-degree felonies generally can result in up to 15 years of jail time and 15 years of probation, while third-degree felonies can lead to a sentence of as much as five years behind bars and five years of probation.)
In Taylor’s case, the state alleged that he moved but failed to provide notification of his new home address within the required 48 hours.
Challenging a Charge on Factual or Procedural Grounds
Defeating a violation charge is possible. The Taylor case is a useful example. In 2021, the state brought similar charges related to an alleged failure to update his home address. In a December 2021 report by TMZ, the retired linebacker’s legal counsel described the charge as “a big misunderstanding” and expressed confidence in a swift dismissal. According to the attorney, local law enforcement in Broward County had visited Taylor’s marital home and recommended that he stay elsewhere for a while following a dispute with his wife. Although the man took the officers’ advice, he was “constantly a resident of the marital home where he was registered,” so no requirement to update his information existed, according to his legal team.
The 2024 arrest allegedly was a similar “misunderstanding.” Taylor’s attorney stated in an ESPN report that, just like “the previous incident involving the same allegations, Mr. Taylor did not knowingly commit any criminal offense… We are confident that, once the prosecutors review the exculpatory evidence demonstrating Mr. Taylor’s innocence, he will once again achieve a favorable outcome,” which seems to imply that they did secure a dismissal in 2021.
You may also be able to challenge your charges on legal or procedural grounds, rather than factual bases. For example, in 2014, officers in Pinellas County arrested a St. Petersburg man for allegedly failing to update his address. The state’s theory was that the man had moved from one girlfriend’s home (located on 44th Avenue) to a new girlfriend’s home (located on 57th Avenue,) but had never updated his address to reflect the move to 57th Avenue.
The man prevailed in the court of appeals on due process grounds. When the state opens a criminal case, the State’s Attorney files with the court a formal document called an “information.” An accused person’s due process rights demand that the state compose this document with specificity. Basically, the document must be specific enough to put the accused “on notice” of the exact charges against him and include all the essential elements of the crime(s) alleged.
In this case, the state prosecuted the case at trial as a violation of Section 775.21(6)(g)(2). However, the information the State Attorney’s Office filed with the court never mentioned Subsection (6)(g) at all “and did not include any elements of the charged offense.” Those errors were enough for the man’s legal team to convince the appeals court that the information was constitutionally defective.
Even if a violation seems like a triviality, be aware that, if it involves the sex offender registry, the negative consequences are always potentially severe. Given what is on the line, having skilled counsel is a must. The experienced Tampa Bay criminal defense attorneys at Blake & Dorsten P.A. are here to help. We are former state prosecutors so we know keenly how the system works, and we know how to maximize your odds of success. To find out more, call us today at (727) 286-6141 to schedule your free initial consultation.