Failure to Register as a Sex Offender

From the Law Office of Alison Grinter in Dallas, Texas

1 Degree
2 Statute(s)
3 Caselaw
4 Collateral Consequences
5 Notes

Degree

The degree depends on the duty to register that the defendant has. If he/she must register for life, and must follow-up every 90 days, failure to comply is a Second degree felony. If he/she must register for life, and must follow-up every 1 year, failure to comply is a Third degree felony. If he/she's under a 10 year duty to register, then failure to comply is a state jail felony.
A previous conviction under this section raises the punishment range by one degree.

Statute(s)

From the Code of Criminal Procedure:

Art. 62.102. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REGISTRATION
REQUIREMENTS. (a) A person commits an offense if the person is
required to register and fails to comply with any requirement of
this chapter.
(b) An offense under this article is:
(1) a state jail felony if the actor is a person whose
duty to register expires under Article 62.101(b) or (c);
(2) a felony of the third degree if the actor is a
person whose duty to register expires under Article 62.101(a) and
who is required to verify registration once each year under Article
62.058; and
(3) a felony of the second degree if the actor is a
person whose duty to register expires under Article 62.101(a) and
who is required to verify registration once each 90-day period
under Article 62.058.
(c) If it is shown at the trial of a person for an offense or
an attempt to commit an offense under this article that the person
has previously been convicted of an offense or an attempt to commit
an offense under this article, the punishment for the offense or the
attempt to commit the offense is increased to the punishment for the
next highest degree of felony.