A person may petition to be removed from the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry if they meet the eligibility requirements and follow a defined court process. Removal from the Sex Offender Registry in Oklahoma is not automatic. It must be requested and approved by a judge.
Many people do not realize that sex offender registration removal is possible in Oklahoma. There are specific conditions under which a person convicted of a sex crime may be able to have his or her name removed from the Oklahoma sex offender registry. Those convicted of "consensual" statutory rape must register as sex offenders for life. This is the same punishment as habitual offenders, child rapists, and forcible rapists. This seems unfair that they are classified as high-risk offenders for sex with a willing partner who was legally precluded from providing consent.
Eligibility Requirements for Sex Offender Registry Removal in Oklahoma
Fortunately, under 57 O.S. § 590.2, certain people convicted of statutory rape may file a motion for removal from the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry. If a person is convicted of statutory rape, required to register as a result of that conviction, and has no other sex crime convictions, he or she may petition for removal if he or she "[w]as not more than four (4) years older than the victim of the violation who was fourteen (14) years of age or older but not more than seventeen (17) years of age at the time the person committed the violation."
The eligibility requirements for petitioning for removal from the Oklahoma Sex Offender registry are listed below.
- The person was convicted only of a violation of 21 O.S. § 1111.1 or § 1114
- The person has no other convictions requiring sex offender registration
- Registration is required solely because of that conviction
- The person was no more than four years older than the victim
- The victim was at least fourteen (14) but not more than seventeen (17) years old at the time of the offense
If any of these conditions listed above are not met, the statute does not allow for the individual to have their name removed from the Sex Offender Registry.
How to File the Petition or Motion for Removal
The steps involved in filing the petition for removal from the Sex Offender Registry are different depending on if the individual has been sentenced or not. Defendants who have already been sentenced, they must file a petition in the court where the conviction occurred. Defendants who have not yet been sentenced file a motion with the sentencing court requesting removal from the registration requirement.
The steps for filing the petition for removal from the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry are listed below.
- If the individual has already been sentenced - The person must file a petition in the court where the conviction occurred. The petition must state that the statutory criteria are met and that removal will not conflict with federal law.
- If not yet sentenced - The person may file a motion with the sentencing court requesting removal of the registration requirement, using the same statutory grounds.
The district attorney must be given at least 21 days’ notice before the hearing in either situation. The prosecutor may present evidence opposing the request. Individuals seeking to petition for removal from the Sex Offender Registry should contact an Oklahoma sex offender attorney for assistance with the process.
Court Decision and Final Step
The court will review the petition or motion and determine whether the criteria have been met by the defendant. The court must ensure that the removal of the individual from the Sex Offender Registry does not conflict with federal law. If the court grants relief, it will issue an order removing the registration requirement. The person must then provide a certified copy of the court order to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Once received, the Department must remove the person from the public sex offender registry.
If the court denies the request, no additional petitions or motions may be filed under this statute.
Reputational Harm from Sex Offender Registration
Perhaps the harshest penalty associated with conviction of a sex crime is the sex offender registration that follows. Once a person has served any prison time, if sentenced to such, he or she must register as a sex offender for a period of time ranging from 15 years to life, depending upon the crime of which he or she was convicted.In some cases, a person received no prison time for his or her conviction, but still must register for life. The stigma associated with conviction can be difficult to bear.
On a recent Oklahoma City metro area neighborhood Facebook page, a resident quickly notified other neighbors that a "new sex offender moved into the neighborhood." Another neighbor pulled his picture from the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry website and posted it, along with his name and address, on the page. One neighbor commented she looked up his registration and said, "He's charged with second degree rape which I looked up and it is a little ambiguous on definition. . . . It sounds like it could be a violent rape to anyone over the age of to 12."
Now the neighborhood has the name and address of someone they assume to be a violent rapist, when the facts do not support their belief at all.In fact, the definition of second degree rape is not ambiguous at all. Second degree rape is statutory rape, or sex in which both parties consent to sex, but one of those parties is legally unable to provide consent. It is not violent or forcible rape, which is charged as first degree rape. Further research into the man's court records show that he was only 19 at the time of his conviction, which likely means that he was convicted of a sex crime for having a partner that was too young to consent to sex. He has since petitioned for removal from the sex offender registry, an act which shows that his crime was being slightly too old for his slightly-too-young partner.
