Megan’s Law Information

Any person who was convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or found not guilty by reason of insanity for the commission of any of the following offenses:

• Aggravated Sexual Assault;
• Sexual Assault;
• Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact;
• Kidnapping, where the victim is less than 16 years of age;
• Endangering the Welfare of a Minor by engaging in sexual conduct with a minor;
• Endangering the Welfare of a Minor by knowingly receiving for the purpose of selling, knowingly selling, procuring, manufacturing, giving, providing, lending, trading, mailing, delivering, transferring, publishing, distributing, circulating, disseminating, presenting, exhibiting, advertising, offering or agreeing to offer, through any means; including the Internet, any photograph, film, videotape, computer program or file, video game or any other reproduction or reconstruction which depicts a child engaging in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such an act;
• Luring or Enticing a Minor;
• Criminal Sexual Contact, if the victim is under the age of 18; and
• Kidnapping, Criminal Restraint, or False Imprisonment upon a person under the age of 18, where the offender was not a parent.

An attempt to commit any of these enumerated offenses would also qualify. These convictions, adjudications, or acquittals by reason of insanity must have occurred AFTER OCTOBER 31, 1994; or the offender must have been serving a sentence of incarceration, probation, parole, or other form of community supervision as a result of the offense, or was confined following acquittal by reason of insanity or as a result of civil commitment AFTER OCTOBER 31, 1994. These offenders must verify their residence annually with their local police department.

If the crime or conviction occurred before October 31, 1994, only those persons who were convicted, adjudicated delinquent, or found not guilty by reason of insanity for the commission of the offenses of: Aggravated Sexual Assault; Sexual Assault; Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact; or Kidnapping of a person under the age of 16, or an attempt to commit any of these offenses, AND the offender’s conduct was characterized by a pattern of repetitive and compulsive behavior, are required to register. These offenders must verify their residence every 90 days with their local police departments.

A conviction, adjudication of delinquency, or acquittal by reason of insanity for an offense similar to those outlined in Answer 1 above OR an offender sentenced in another state on the basis of criteria similar to a finding of repetitive and compulsive behavior.

Once subject to Megan’s Law, an offender must go to the local police department in the town in which they are residing (this may include the State Police.) The offender is required to fill out and sign a Uniform Monmouth County Sex Offender Registration Form. This form is a multi-page document containing personal information of the offender. This form also alerts the offender to his registration obligations.

The local police departments each have an officer assigned to handle Megan’s Law matters. Upon registering an offender, the Megan’s Law officer is required to verify that the offender is actually residing in the residence listed on their form. Once the offender’s residence is verified, the local police forward the registration to the Prosecutor’s Office.

It is the responsibility of the Megan’s Law Unit of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to classify every registered offender as to a specific tier, or risk of re-offense. This process involves utilizing a specially designed risk assessment scale for each offender. The scale lists numerous factors to be considered in weighing the risk of re-offense, including use of force by the offender to commit the sexual offense; type of sexual offense; age of victim; relationship between the offender and the victim; number of victims and sexual offenses; duration of the sexual offense; length of time since the offense was committed; history of prior anti-social acts; offender's response to treatment and therapeutic support; substance abuse issues; current residential support; and employment and/or educational stability. Once these factors are all considered, the offender receives a numerical score. It is the specific score that places the offender in one of three possible tier categories. There is a separate scale for adult sex offenders called the Registrant Risk Assessment Scale and juvenile sex offenders called the Juvenile Risk Assessment Scale.

For Adult Sex Offenders, Tier I offenders are those offenders receiving a score on the scale of 36 or under. Due to their low scores these offenders are considered to be at low risk for re-offending. Tier II offenders are those offenders receiving a score of between 37-73 on the scale. These offenders are considered to be at moderate risk for re-offending. Tier III offenders are those offenders receiving a score of 74 or higher on the scale. These offenders are considered to be at high risk of re-offending. For Juvenile Sex Offenders, Tier 1 offenders are those offenders receiving a score on the scale of 9 or under. Due to their low scores these offenders are considered to be at low risk for re-offending. Tier II offenders are those offenders receiving a score of between 10-19 on the scale. These offenders are considered to be at moderate risk for re-offending. Tier III offenders are those offenders receiving a score of 20 or higher on the scale

Upon completing a classification, detectives from the Prosecutor’s Office hand-serve copies of the scale and proposed classification to the offender. The offender is provided with information regarding the scale score and what tier they fall in.

The simple (and at times, frustrating) answer is “No.” The Courts, in response to the Attorney General’s guidelines, have limited the times when community notification can occur, and who in the community is entitled to that notification. Under the law, only registered community organizations that qualify for notification, because they directly care for children, women, or other vulnerable groups (schools, daycare centers, and summer camps, for example) are notified of moderate and high-risk offenders (Tier II and Tier III) that they are likely to encounter, because of the possibility that offenders may be drawn to these places. In determining which groups, schools, etc. are likely to encounter the particular offender, the Court must consider the age of the victim of the underlying sexual offense, the relationship of the victim to the offender, and the distance of the location of the groups, schools, etc. from the offender’s residence. Once the Court approves notification to specific groups, schools, etc., then staff members at the facilities who deal directly with children or potential victims are provided with information about the sex offender. Neighbors whose residences fall within 1,000 feet of the offender’s residence will only be notified of Tier III, or high-risk, offenders. If an offender is a Tier I, or low-risk offender, then only law-enforcement agencies will be notified of the offender’s presence in the community.

In the case of a Tier II offender notification, the SCHOOL IS NOT PERMITTED TO SHARE THE OFFENDER INFORMATION WITH THE PARENTS OF THEIR STUDENTS. The Courts have limited Tier II offender information only to staff, so they may protect children or potential victims while they are located at a facility likely to encounter the sex offender. The information cannot be disclosed to students or parents, and the Order signed by the Superior Court Judge advises the staff or anyone allowed to receive the information not to disseminate the information they may receive under Megan’s Law.

The only time that Megan’s Law information will be released to parents or families of students is if the school receives a Tier III high-risk notice concerning an offender living within a 1,000-foot radius of their location. The school, community organization, daycare center, etc. will then mail or hand the parents or responsible adult family member the Megan’s Law information. At no time should the school provide the information directly to the student (unless the student is over 18 years of age.) The parents can then share the information that the schools provided with anyone else in their household.

Again, the simple answer is NO. Megan’s Law information is only provided to the community after a Court Order has been issued. The Order is very specific as to which location or addresses are entitled to receive the Megan’s Law information. If you receive Megan’s Law information pursuant to a Court Order and then share that information with someone not entitled to view it, you are technically violating a Court Order, and could be charged with Contempt of Court.

NO. There is a misunderstanding that Megan’s Law information is open to the public; as explained above, it is not. No information will ever be released over the telephone; the only information a citizen may receive is about Tier III, high-risk offenders living within 1,000 feet of their homes. In order to receive the Tier III information, the Prosecutor’s Office and local police department will require identification with proof of current residency. Once identification is provided, you will receive only the information that was covered by a prior Court Order. In most instances, there will be no information for you to receive. As proof of residence is required, law enforcement cannot share Megan’s Law information with prospective homebuyers. There is, however, nothing preventing you from geographically searching the Sex Offender Internet Registry (website address located in Answer 20 below) to see if there are any listings in the neighborhood in which you are seeking to move.

As indicated above, unfortunately, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about Megan’s Law. Until you actually move into the community, you are not entitled to any information. Upon moving into the community, you will only be entitled to Tier III high-risk offender information if your new address was covered by a previous Court Order.

According to most recent statistics, there are approximately 700 sex offenders registered in Monmouth County.

This is not an easy statistic to provide, because at any given time, not all of the registrants have been classified with signed Orders. New registrants have no assigned tier. Another problem is that some of those who are registered have moved after registering, or are currently incarcerated or hospitalized, thus removing them from the tiering process. A final cause of delay occurs for offenders whose crimes were committed out-of-state. The Prosecutor’s Office must wait for information concerning the underlying crime. Taking the above into consideration, approximately 27 percent of registrants are Tier II offenders (with some notification to certain schools, community organizations, daycare centers, etc., and notification to law enforcement), and approximately 4 percent of the registrants are Tier III offenders (with notification to all residents within 1,000 feet of the offender’s home, notification to certain schools, community organizations, daycare centers, etc., and the parents of the children that attend those schools/organizations located within 1,000 feet of the offender’s home, and notification to law enforcement.)

Failure to register is a third-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2.  It is also a third-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C: 7-2e for a registrant to knowingly provide false information concerning his place of residence, or to fail to verify his address with the appropriate law-enforcement agency. Third-degree crimes are punishable by up to five years in State Prison.

The sex offender is required to report every change of address to their local police department and then register with the new town if they change towns. Failure to provide 10-day notice in advance of any move is also a violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2 and a third-degree crime.

You can always provide information concerning a sex offender to the local police or Prosecutor’s Office. Please remember that law enforcement will not be able to advise you whether or not that particular person is registered, and if so, where.

On July 23, 2001, Acting Governor DiFrancesco did sign into law legislation that will post some Megan’s Law information on the Internet in a Sex Offender Internet Registry. The law limits the information to be placed on the Internet to include only Tier III and certain Tier II offenders. The law specifically excludes from the Internet information about all Tier I offenders, juvenile sex offenders, most sex offenders whose crimes were committed against members of their families or households (incest crimes), and most sex offenders whose crimes were considered statutory (the victim of the underlying sex offense was too young to give their consent to any sexual activity). The law also allows offenders to challenge, in Court, their information being placed onto the website. After the entry of a Court Order, the approved sex offender information is placed on the Internet Registry. You can reach the Sex Offender Registry through the State Police Website at www.njsp.org. The website is designed to perform geographic, individual, advanced, and vehicle searches. The website now includes offender’s home addresses as well. Due to the specific limitations and exemptions set out in the law, only 20-25 percent of the sex offenders registered in Monmouth County have their information posted on the Internet Registry.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office has established a countywide Megan’s Law Officers Association (the only one in the State) that includes at least one officer from the 53 municipalities and the State Police, along with members of Parole, Probation, and the Prosecutor’s Office. The purpose of the Association is to provide training, share intelligence, and aggressively enforce Megan’s Law.

The simple answer is “No, but our parole laws might.” Megan’s Law only requires that the sex offender register their address. It does not restrict where they can live, e.g., near a school, park, or playground, etc. The purpose of the law is to ensure that law-enforcement agencies (and, in some cases, the general public) are kept apprised of a registrant’s address. However, our laws permit Parole Officers to place restrictions on a sex offender’s workplace or residence if the offender is serving a special sentence of Community or Parole Supervision for Life. Those limitations are not always known to the general public.