Connecticut General Statutes
Chapter 969 - Registration of Sexual Offenders
Section 54-257. - Registry. Suspension of registration. Verification of address. Retake of photographic image. Change of name.

(a) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall, not later than January 1, 1999, establish and maintain a registry of all persons required to register under sections 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 and 54-254. The department shall, in cooperation with the Office of the Chief Court Administrator, the Department of Correction and the Psychiatric Security Review Board, develop appropriate forms for use by agencies and individuals to report registration information, including changes of address. Upon receipt of registration information, the department shall enter the information into the registry and notify the local police department or state police troop having jurisdiction where the registrant resides or plans to reside. If a registrant notifies the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection that such registrant is employed at, carries on a vocation at or is a student at a trade or professional institution or institution of higher learning in this state, the department shall notify the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over such institution. If a registrant reports a residence in another state, the department shall notify the state police agency of that state or such other agency in that state that maintains registry information, if known. The department shall also transmit all registration information, conviction data, photographic images and fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in such form as said bureau shall require for inclusion in a national registry.

(b) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection may suspend the registration of any person registered under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254 while such person is incarcerated, under civil commitment or residing outside this state. During the period that such registration is under suspension, the department is not required to verify the address of the registrant pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and may withdraw the registration information from public access. Upon the release of the registrant from incarceration or civil commitment or resumption of residency in this state by the registrant, the department shall reinstate the registration, redistribute the registration information in accordance with subsection (a) of this section and resume verifying the address of the registrant in accordance with subsection (c) of this section. Suspension of registration shall not affect the date of expiration of the registration obligation of the registrant under section 54-251, 54-252 or 54-253.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall verify the address of each registrant by mailing a nonforwardable verification form to the registrant at the registrant's last reported address. Such form shall require the registrant to sign a statement that the registrant continues to reside at the registrant's last reported address and return the form by mail by a date which is ten days after the date such form was mailed to the registrant. The form shall contain a statement that failure to return the form or providing false information is a violation of section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, as the case may be. Each person required to register under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254 shall have such person's address verified in such manner every ninety days after such person's initial registration date. In the event that a registrant fails to return the address verification form, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall notify the local police department or the state police troop having jurisdiction over the registrant's last reported address, and that agency shall apply for a warrant to be issued for the registrant's arrest under section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254, as the case may be. The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall not verify the address of registrants whose last reported address was outside this state.
(d) The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall include in the registry the most recent photographic image of each registrant taken by the department, the Department of Correction, a law enforcement agency or the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Department and shall retake the photographic image of each registrant at least once every five years.
(e) Whenever the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection receives notice from a superior court pursuant to section 52-11 or a probate court pursuant to section 45a-99 that such court has ordered the change of name of a person, and the department determines that such person is listed in the registry, the department shall revise such person's registration information accordingly.
(f) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall develop a protocol for the notification of other state agencies, the Judicial Department and local police departments whenever a person listed in the registry changes such person's name and notifies the commissioner of the new name pursuant to section 54-251, 54-252, 54-253 or 54-254 or whenever the commissioner determines pursuant to subsection (e) of this section that a person listed in the registry has changed such person's name.
(P.A. 98-111, S. 8; P.A. 99-183, S. 8, 13; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 84; P.A. 03-202, S. 19; P.A. 06-187, S. 40; 06-196, S. 292; P.A. 11-51, S. 134.)
History: P.A. 99-183 amended Subsec. (a) to delete the Board of Parole from list of agencies cooperating with the department in the development of forms to report registration information, added new Subsec. (b) re suspension of registration while a person is incarcerated, under civil commitment or residing out of state, redesignated former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c) and amended said Subsec. to add exception to address verification requirement when registration is suspended under Subsec. (b), to add reference to Sec. 54-253 in provision requiring the form to contain a statement that failure to return the form or providing false information is a violation of the specified statutes, to delete provision establishing an affirmative defense in a prosecution for failure to return the address verification form and to make technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality, and added Subsec. (d) to require the retaking of the photographic image of each registrant at least once every five years, effective July 1, 1999; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision that if a registrant notifies the department that such registrant is employed at, carries on a vocation at or is a student at a trade or professional institution or institution of higher learning in this state, the department shall notify the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over such institution and amended Subsec. (c) to require verification of address of a person required to register under Sec. 54-251 or 54-254 “every ninety days after such person's initial registration date” rather than “annually on the anniversary of such person's initial registration date” and to require verification of address of a person required to register under Sec. 54-253 “every ninety days after such person's initial registration date” rather than “either annually on the anniversary of such person's initial registration date or every ninety days after such person's initial registration date depending upon whether, after such initial registration, such person is subject to the requirements of section 54-251 or section 54-252, respectively”, effective August 15, 2002; P.A. 03-202 added Subsec. (e) re revision of registration information upon notice of court ordered change of name; P.A. 06-187 amended Subsec. (d) to require department to include in registry most recent photographic image of each registrant taken by department, Department of Correction, law enforcement agency or Court Support Services Division and added Subsec. (f) re development of protocol for notification of other state agencies, Judicial Department and local police departments whenever commissioner is notified or determines that person listed in the registry has changed such person's name, effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 06-196 changed effective date of P.A. 06-187, S. 40 from July 1, 2006, to October 1, 2006, effective June 7, 2006; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Commissioner of Public Safety” and “Department of Public Safety” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection” and “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection”, respectively, effective July 1, 2011.
Because statute imposes strict liability, actual notice to defendant and mens rea are not elements of the offense, and therefore trial court's instructions were not constitutionally deficient. 286 C. 191.

Structure Connecticut General Statutes