OC Sheriff’s Office answers Questions about Sex Offender Registry

Recently the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office has fielded questions from citizens regarding whether an individual on the sex offender registry is allowed to have a social media site as well as access to the internet. In efforts to be pro-active and to educate our citizens, the Sheriff’s Office is hoping to clear the air about what the law says not only concerning those on the registry and what they are allowed to do or not do, but also to raise awareness to avoid any issues regarding possible harassment of those on the registry. Individuals who are on the sex offender registry are allowed by law to have social media sites and access to the internet as long as certain information is provided, according to Deputy Kelly Winchester, sex offender registrar with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office. Offenders must provide their IP address, screen names for the social media site pages they have and e-mail addresses. Deputy Winchester says that each offender is required to provide that information as part of his or her registration process. There are penalties for those offenders who do not provide the necessary information. “If I am able to prove that an offender did not provide me with their IP address, their screen name, their e-mail or other false information, I can obtain a warrant charging them with failure to register since they are not in compliance with the registration requirements of state law,” says Deputy Winchester. Offenders who are on probation can have internet and social medial access but those offenders must sign a computer agreement with probation officials, which allows probation officers access to their computers. The only restriction for those on the registry who are on probation would be a court order that bars them from having internet and social media access for the duration of their probation. In another side of the coin on this issue, Deputy Winchester says that an individual cannot single out another individual who is on the sex offender registry. An example of this would be someone who lives in a subdivision who prints our flyers to hand out to their neighbors there singling out a registered sex offender who lives in that particular subdivision. If it can be proven that an individual singled out someone in this manner, they could face charges of harassment. “In regards to the internet and social media, the law pertaining to these activities is a little bit fuzzy or to my knowledge, there has not been much precedent,” says Deputy Winchester. “I would caution those, however, who may be thinking about putting information singling out a registered sex offender on the internet or their social media site that if it can be proven that they did this, a judge may reserve the right to issue an arrest warrant charging them with harassment.” By law, information regarding those on the sex offender registry is public information and the law requires dissemination of that information. However, that information is not to be used to take any action against an individual who is on the registry.