The Wide Net of Sex Offender Registration Laws: The Premise of the Onion’s Article is Close to Minnesota’s Actual Law

 The Onion writes articles that can be absurd, surreal, and funny. There are times where the articles are just laughable because they are so absurd. But there are other times when they hit too close to home. For Minnesota, the Onion’s Most recent article hits very close to home.

Jacob Wetterling: The Case That Started it All

Minnesota has a special relationship with registration as a predatory offender laws. The Jacob Wetterling case was a major catalyst in creating the registration laws. In 1989, Jacob Wetterling, an 11-year-old boy, was abducted near his home in St. Joseph, MN. The case outraged not only Minnesota but the nation. In response, the national Jacob Wetterling Act required states to maintain sex offender registries.

Registration Would Not Have Saved Wetterling from Danny Heinrich

The Wetterling case may have prompted the creation of registration laws but it took years to find out that registration would not have even changed anything in his case. The Wetterling case remained an open case for 27 years. It wasn’t until 2016 that it came to light that Danny Heinrich kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and hid Wetterling’s remains. Heinrich wasn’t a convicted sex offender so he would not have been on any registration list if it had existed at the time.

The Wide Net Grabs a Lot of People

A major problem with the registration law is that it casts too wide a net. Nobody disagrees that those convicted of heinous sexual crimes need special oversight. But a problem emerges if you create a one size fits all approach that overly stigmatizes wide swaths of people. Minnesota’s Bench and Bar article “The New Scarlet Letter” highlights what a problem it creates. The example used in the article is a 20-year-old who had consensual sex with a woman he believed was of age but later found out she was under age. He was convicted of statutory rape and required to register as a sex offender.

 Enter the Dystopia: Your Charge Gets Dismissed and You Still May Have to Register

The problem goes wider than convictions of sexual assault. False imprisonment, indecent exposure, and interference with privacy can result in registration. No violence needed. No sex needed. You still need to register. And Minnesota goes a step farther than other states in that you need not even be convicted of a registration offense to be required to register. I’ll repeat that: Your registration charge can be dismissed, and you could still have to register. If you are charged with multiple charges, and your more serious registrable offense gets dismissed, you will still be required to register if you are convicted for a less serious misdemeanor. Any conviction, even something as light as a misdemeanor disorderly conduct conviction can still trigger registration requirements.

The Overloaded Net with Over 21,000 People

It's because of this ridiculously wide net that is created that there are over 21,000. It costs Minnesota over $1 million per year to maintain the sex offender registration. Yet the studies that have been done on registration have shown that they do not work. They have failed to move the needle in any direction in combating sex crimes. Amanda Agan’s paper is appropriately titled: Sex Offender Registries: Fear Without Function.

The Onion’s Article: Hyperbole or Not Going Far Enough?

It is against this backdrop that the Onion posts an article saying that publicly saying you’re going to urinate requires registration. In some ways the Onion is engaging in hyperbole and going beyond Minnesota’s laws. But in other ways it’s not. You need to actually be guilty of the claimed “offense” of publicly saying you are taking a leak. Under Minnesota’s registration laws you could not have said it all but be convicted of another misdemeanor and still have to register.

If you are charged with failure to register as a predatory offender or are facing charges that may trigger registration requirements, contact Jack Rice Defense for a consultation. 651-447-7650 or 612-227.1339. When your life is on the line, Jack Rice Defense.

Peter Lindstrom,

Of Counsel

Peter is also the founder of his own law firm, Subzero Criminal Defense. He regularly contributes to Jack Rice Defense. He brings both intelligence and creativity to crafting defenses and figuring out different strategies to advance the interests of the clients of Jack Rice Defense. Peter is also the creator of FalselyAccused.com, a website devoted to reverse engineering wrongful convictions from the past to provide insights for those falsely accused today.