In order to keep yourself and your loved ones safe at all time, you need to stay away from sex offenders. It is therefore essential to first know how to properly search for sex offenders in Georgia. Those individuals who have been accused and convicted of sexually motivated crimes are prone to commit similar crimes in the future. In this regard, you should get the information you need to stay away from such individuals.
Who is a sex offender in Georgia?
According to the O.C.G.A. 42-1-12, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is the central repository for Georgia’s Violent Sexual Offender Registry. The same Bureau of Investigation in Georgia is responsible for making hard efforts to ensure the fact that the information contained in the Georgia Sex Offender Registry is constantly updated and accurately registered. Nevertheless, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation does not make any promise and does not express or imply any guarantee concerning the 100% accuracy of the respective information.
Using the O.C.G.A. 42-1-12 (a)(20) definition, a sex offender in Georgia is “an individual who has been convicted of a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor or has committed some other dangerous sexual offense”. Also, a sex offender is considered to be a person who has already been convicted under the laws of another state or U.S. territory, under the laws of the United States, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or in a tribal court against a minor. The definition is hence a broad one that enables the justice system to account for a large diversity of sexual crime. For further information, a detailed list of offenses for which a citizen in Georgia is required to register as a sex offender can be found here: https://gbi.georgia.gov/42-1-12-state-sexual-offender-registry. These offenses range from kidnapping of a minor to false imprisonment, rape, incest, sexual battery, solicitation of a minor to practice prostitution and others.
Individuals who are required to register as sex offenders in Georgia and are enrolled, employed, or who are working at an institution of higher education need to register the name, address, and county of that institution, plus the name of the campus they are attending, and also information on the status of their enrollment or employment status.
Researching Sex Offenders in Georgia
Before you can gain access to the sex offenders’ database in Georgia, you must first agree to a disclaimer that can be found here http://services.georgia.gov/gbi/gbisor/ControllerServlet. Once you accept the terms of use of the Sex Offender Registry, you can search for all sexual offenders, sexually dangerous predators (persons who were designated as sexually violent predators between July 1, 1996, and June 30, 2006 or individuals “who are determined by the Sexual Offender Registration Review Board to be at risk of perpetrating any future dangerous sexual offense”). You can also search for absconders, who are individuals who have failed to register with the appropriate sheriff’s office within 72 hours after having been released from prison or parole, supervised release or probation on their registration anniversary date. Once you have chosen one of these three categories, you can insert the first and last name, street name, city, zip code, county and gender and initiate your search. You are also required to state if you wish to search for sex offenders in Georgia who are presently incarcerated or not.
According to the latest report dating from 30.04.2012, there are 21,192 sex offenders in Georgia, and 4,000 are from other state. Sexual offenders are required to register under the O.C.G.A. 42-1-12 (f) Code section and provide the necessary information to the proper official before being released from prison or placed on parole or supervised release and probation. He or she must also register in person with the sheriff of the county in which he or she resides within 72 hours after being released from the prison or entry in the state of Georgia.