Illinois law providfes that any person who is found guilty of a sex offense must register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act. See 730 ILCS 150/1.
A person who is required to register will have his identity made part of the public registry managed by the Illinois State Police. The registry allows users to search for specific individuals as well as search for sex offenders nearby their location on a map.
Sex offender registration in Illinois lasts for a minimum period of 10 years. See 730 ILCS 150/7. The 10-year time span begins to run when the person is released from custody, not from the date of conviction. See id.
A conviction for any of the following offenses, or for an attempt to commit one of these offenses, requires registration as a sex offender:
- Child Pornography, 720 ILCS 5/11-20.1
- Aggravated Child Pornography, 720 ILCS 5/11-20.1B or 11-20.3
- Indecent Solicitation Of A Child, 720 ILCS 5/11-6
- Sexual Exploitation Of A Child, 720 ILCS 5/11-9.1
- Custodial Sexual Misconduct, 720 ILCS 5/11-9.2
- Sexual Misconduct With A Person With A Disability, 720 ILCS 5/11-9.5
- Promoting Juvenile Prostitution, 720 ILCS 5/11-14.4
- Soliciting For A Juvenile Prostitute, 720 ILCS 5/11-15.1
- Patronizing A Juvenile Prostitute, 720 ILCS 5/11-18.1
- Keeping A Place Of Juvenile Prostitution, 720 ILCS 5/11-17.1
- Juvenile Pimping, 720 ILCS 5/11-19.1
- Exploitation Of A Child, 720 ILCS 5/11-19.2
- Grooming, 720 ILCS 5/11-25
- Traveling To Meet A Minor, 720 ILCS 5/11-26
- Criminal Sexual Assault, 720 ILCS 5/11-1.20 or 12-13
- Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault, 720 ILCS 5/11-1.30 or 12-14
- Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault Of A Child, 720 ILCS 5/11-1.40 or 12-14.1
- Criminal Sexual Abuse, 720 ILCS 5/11-1.50 or 12-15
- Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse, 720 ILCS 5/11-1.60 or 12-16
- Ritualized Abuse Of A Child, 720 ILCS 5/12-33
- Sexual Relations Within Families, 720 ILCS 5/11-11
- Public Indecency For A Third Or Subsequent Conviction, 720 ILCS 5/11-9 or 11-30
- Permitting Sexual Abuse, 720 ILCS 5/11-9.1A
- Indecent Solicitation Of An Adult, 720 ILCS 5/11-6.5
- Promoting Prostitution, 720 ILCS 5/11-14.3 where profit is made.
- Soliciting For A Prostitute, 720 ILCS 5/11-15, if the victim is under 18 years of age.
- Pandering, 720 ILCS 5/11-16 , if the victim is under 18 years of age.
- Patronizing A Prostitute, 720 ILCS 5/11-18, if the victim is under 18 years of age.
- Pimping, 720 ILCS 5/11-19, if the victim is under 18 years of age.
A person shall also be required to register for any of these offenses where the victim is a person under 18 years of age, the defendant is not a parent of the victim, and the offense was sexually motivated:
- Kidnapping, 720 ILCS 5/10-1
- Aggravated Kidnapping, 720 ILCS 5/10-2
- Unlawful Restraint, 720 ILCS 5/10-3
- Aggravated Unlawful Restraint, 720 ILCS 5/10-3.1
A person who is found guilty of First Degree Murder, 720 ILCS 5/9-1, must also register when the victim was a person under 18 years of age and the defendant was at least 17 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense, and the offense was sexually motivated.
A person shall be required to register if found guilty of Child Abduction, 720 ILCS 5/10-5, when the crime is committed by luring or attempting to lure a child under the age of 16 into a motor vehicle, building, house trailer, or dwelling place without the consent of the parent or lawful custodian of the child for other than a lawful purpose.
A person shall be required to register if found guilty of Forcible Detention, 720 ILCS 5/10-4, if the victim is under 18 years of age and the offense was sexually motivated. This an overview of the offenses that mandate sex offender registration.
If accused of a sex offense, generally the best course is to fight the case at trial rather than plead guilty and suffer the consequences of registration.
