Although Gov. Sonny Perdue signed into law last year that made changes to the state law governing people on the sex offender registry, only three in Douglas County have petitioned to be removed from the registry, according to Investigator Trent Wilson of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Wilson, who manages the county's registry, said there are 150 sex offenders on the sex offender registry here. DCSO officials and local probation officers did a county-wide roundup two weeks ago to locate those on the list and to verify addresses and other information.
Georgia's sex offender laws, once among the toughest in the nation, were revised following challenges from civil liberties groups and losing court battle after court battle, according to the Associated Press, which said state legislators were forced to make a change or a federal judge was going to throw out the entire law.
Georgia's tough law failed because it cast too wide a net, targeting sex offenders who had committed crimes years before the strict law which was passed in 2006, banning all sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and other places where children congregate, essentially forcing them to live in desolate areas or move out of stare.
There are about 20,000 registered sex offenders in the state, according to AP.
HB 571, which became effective on May 21, 2010, allows registered sex offenders who committed their offenses before June 4 2003 to live wherever they choose. According to AP, the date was picked because that was when the first sex offender overhaul too effect. Those restrictions were made stricter three years later.
The new law also deletes a requirement that persons on the registry must provide their email addresses, user names and user passwords to law enforcement officials as part of the required registration information.
Most sex offenders who committed their crimes after June 4, 2003 are subject to the 1,000 feet living and work restrictions.
The new law also allows sex offenders to petition a superior court for release from registration requirements and from any residency or employment restrictions but, in most cases, the person must have completed all prison, parole, supervised release and probation for the offense which required registration.
"What they have to do is petition to come off the registry," Wilson said. "They have to petition the court, us and have a hearing in the jurisdiction where they were convicted."
After the judge makes the ruling, the court decision will be sent to the DCSO, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the state Department of Corrections, Wilson said. Read More
