Colorado statute
C.R.S. § 18-3-412.5 — Failure to register as a sex offender.
Current through 2025 Regular Session
Part of Part 4: UNLAWFUL SEXUAL BEHAVIOR, Colorado Revised Statutes.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of C.R.S. § 18-3-412.5
Statutory text current through the 2025 Regular Session. This is an officially sanctioned publication using the official text of the Colorado Revised Statutes; it is not the official statutes of the State of Colorado.
(1) A person who is required to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16 and who fails to comply with any of the requirements placed on registrants by said article 22, including but not limited to committing any of the acts specified in this subsection (1), commits the offense of failure to register as a sex offender: (a) Failure to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S.; (b) Submission of a registration form containing false information or submission of an incomplete registration form; (c) Failure to provide information or knowingly providing false information to a probation department employee, to a community corrections administrator or his or her designee, or to a judge or magistrate when receiving notice pursuant to section 16-22-106 (1), (2), or (3), C.R.S., of the duty to register; (d) If the person has been sentenced to a county jail, otherwise incarcerated, or committed, due to conviction of or disposition or adjudication for an offense specified in section 16-22-103, C.R.S., failure to provide notice of the address where the person intends to reside upon release as required in sections 16-22-106 and 16-22-107, C.R.S.; (e) Knowingly providing false information to a sheriff or his or her designee, department of corrections personnel, or department of human services personnel concerning the address where the person intends to reside upon release from the county jail, the department of corrections, or the department of human services. Providing false information shall include, but is not limited to, providing false information as described in section 16-22-107 (4)(b), C.R.S. (f) Failure when registering to provide the person's current name and any former names; (g) Failure to register with the local law enforcement agency in each jurisdiction in which the person resides upon changing an address, establishing an additional residence, or legally changing names; (h) Failure to provide the person's correct date of birth, to sit for or otherwise provide a current photograph or image, to provide a current set of fingerprints, or to provide the person's correct address; (i) Failure to complete a cancellation of registration form and file the form with the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the person will no longer reside pursuant to section 16-22-108 (4)(a)(II); (j) When the person's place of residence is a trailer or motor home, failure to register an address at which the trailer or motor home is lawfully located pursuant to section 16-22-109 (1)(a.3), C.R.S.; (k) Failure to register an email address, instant-messaging identity, or chat room identity prior to using the address or identity if the person is required to register that information pursuant to section 16-22-108 (2.5), C.R.S. (1.5) (a) In a prosecution for a violation of this section, it is an affirmative defense that: (I) Uncontrollable circumstances prevented the person from complying; (II) The person did not contribute to the creation of the circumstances in reckless disregard of the requirement to comply; and (III) The person complied as soon as the circumstances ceased to exist. (b) In order to assert the affirmative defense pursuant to this subsection (1.5), the defendant shall provide notice to the prosecuting attorney as soon as practicable, but not later than thirty-five days prior to trial, of his or her notice of intent to rely upon the affirmative defense. The notice shall include a description of the uncontrollable circumstance or circumstances and the dates the uncontrollable circumstances began and ceased to exist in addition to the names and addresses of any witnesses the defendant plans to call to support the affirmative defense. The prosecuting attorney shall advise the defendant of the names and addresses of any additional witnesses who may be called to refute such affirmative defense as soon as practicable after their names become known. Upon the request of the prosecution, the court shall first rule as a matter of law whether the claimed facts and circumstances would, if established, constitute sufficient evidence to support submission to the jury. (2) (a) Failure to register as a sex offender is a class 6 felony if the person was convicted of felony unlawful sexual behavior, or of another offense, the underlying factual basis of which includes felony unlawful sexual behavior, or if the person received a disposition or was adjudicated for an offense that would constitute felony unlawful sexual behavior if committed by an adult, or for another offense, the underlying factual basis of which involves felony unlawful sexual behavior; except that any second or subsequent offense of failure to register as a sex offender by such person is a class 5 felony. (b) Any person convicted of felony failure to register as a sex offender shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of section 18-1.3-401. If such person is sentenced to probation, the court may require, as a condition of probation, that the person participate until further order of the court in an intensive supervision probation program established pursuant to section 18-1.3-1007. If such person is sentenced to incarceration and subsequently released on parole, the parole board may require, as a condition of parole, that the person participate in an intensive supervision parole program established pursuant to section 18-1.3-1005. (c) A person who is convicted of a felony sex offense in another state or jurisdiction, including but not limited to a military or federal jurisdiction, and who commits failure to register as a sex offender in this state commits felony failure to register as a sex offender as specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) and shall be sentenced as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2). (3) (a) Failure to register as a sex offender is a class 1 misdemeanor if the person was convicted of misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior, or of another offense, the underlying factual basis of which involves misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior, or if the person received a disposition or was adjudicated for an offense that would constitute misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior if committed by an adult, or for another offense, the underlying factual basis of which involves misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior. (b) A person who is convicted of a misdemeanor sex offense in another state or jurisdiction, including but not limited to a military or federal jurisdiction, and who commits failure to register as a sex offender in this state commits misdemeanor failure to register as a sex offender as specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3). (4) (a) Any juvenile who receives a disposition or is adjudicated for a delinquent act of failure to register as a sex offender that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult shall be sentenced to a forty-five-day mandatory minimum detention sentence; except that any juvenile who receives a disposition or is adjudicated for a second or subsequent delinquent act of failure to register as a sex offender that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult shall be placed or committed out of the home for not less than one year. (b) Any juvenile who receives a disposition or is adjudicated for a delinquent act of failure to register as a sex offender that would constitute a misdemeanor if committed by an adult shall be sentenced to a thirty-day mandatory minimum detention sentence; except that any juvenile who receives a disposition or is adjudicated for a second or subsequent delinquent act of failure to register as a sex offender that would constitute a misdemeanor if committed by an adult shall be sentenced to a forty-five-day mandatory minimum detention sentence. (5) For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "unlawful sexual behavior" has the same meaning as set forth in section 16-22-102 (9), C.R.S. (6) (a) When a peace officer determines that there is probable cause to believe that a crime of failure to register as a sex offender has been committed by a person required to register as a sexually violent predator in this state pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S., or in any other state, the officer shall arrest the person suspected of the crime. It shall be a condition of any bond posted by such person that the person shall register pursuant to the provisions of section 16-22-108, C.R.S., within seven days after release from incarceration. (b) When a peace officer makes a warrantless arrest pursuant to this subsection (6), the peace officer shall immediately notify the Colorado bureau of investigation of the arrest. Upon receiving the notification, the Colorado bureau of investigation shall notify the jurisdiction where the sexually violent predator last registered. The jurisdiction where the sexually violent predator last registered, if it is not the jurisdiction where the probable cause arrest is made, shall coordinate with the arresting jurisdiction immediately to determine the appropriate jurisdiction that will file the charge. If the sexually violent predator is being held in custody after the arrest, the appropriate jurisdiction shall have no less than seven days after the date of the arrest to charge the sexually violent predator.
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is failure to register as a sex offender a felony or a misdemeanor in Colorado?
It depends on the circumstances: failure to register as a sex offender ranges from a class 1 misdemeanor to a class 5 felony in Colorado under C.R.S. § 18-3-412.5.
Felony failure to register — underlying felony unlawful sexual behavior (first offense): class 6 felony (C.R.S. § 18-3-412.5(2)(a)) · Felony failure to register — second or subsequent offense: class 5 felony (C.R.S. § 18-3-412.5(2)(a)) · Misdemeanor failure to register — underlying misdemeanor unlawful sexual behavior: class 1 misdemeanor (C.R.S. § 18-3-412.5(3)(a))
Which Colorado statute covers failure to register as a sex offender?
Failure to register as a sex offender is governed by C.R.S. § 18-3-412.5 (Failure to register as a sex offender).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.