10-28-2014 South Dakota:
South Dakota was one of the first states in the nation to develop a sex offender registry. After undergoing a major change in 2010, it has become a model for other states to follow.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said, "We work very hard to protect our children and to protect our communities."
Jackley says he's proud of the changes made to the sex offender registry. He says mostly because it's fair. It focuses more on serious offenders, rather than misdemeanor crimes such as indecent exposure.
"There are some offenses in South Dakota where the first or second time you do something that's sexually related even though it's not that serious, it might be a misdemeanor, but the third time that you do it, it becomes a felony," said Jackley.
Four years ago, state lawmakers came up with a three-tiered system that put sex offenders into three categories. The new system allowed those who committed misdemeanor offenses to be taken off the registry. Those who commit lesser offenses, in the second or third tier, have a chance to be removed from the registry if they petition in court.
Jackley said, "The more serious of those offenses, what we would typically refer to as the rapes or inappropriate sexual contacts of young children, those are on that registry for life."
Since then, only around two dozen people have petitioned to be removed from the registry. The decision is left up to a judge, but Jackley says it's rare when someone gets taken off the list.
"We had individual that had engaged in activity and was convicted way back and then ultimately married the individual that that activity was involved with and was a law abiding citizen," said Jackley.
Jackley says those who need to check the website can now be sure they're worrying about the dangerous offenders.
About 3,300 hundred people are currently on South Dakota's Sex Offender Registry. Jackley says they have nearly 99 percent compliance with the registry.
To give you an idea of how that number compares with other states: Iowa has around 6,000 people on their sex offender registry, Nebraska has around 5,000, and Wyoming only has around 2,000 people on its registry. ..Source.. by Jill Johnson
October 28, 2014
Jackley: Around 2 Dozen Have Petitioned SD Sex Offender Registry
October 21, 2014
Federal government says state's sex offender registry program still compliant with federal law
PIERRE, South Dakota — The U.S. Department of Justice has reaffirmed South Dakota's compliance with a national sex offender registration act.
Attorney General Marty Jackley says the state's Sex Offender Registry continues to comply with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.
South Dakota currently has 3,300 registered sex offenders living in the state.
Jackely says the state has a compliance rate of 98.9 percent and has had only 36 instances of non-compliance.
South Dakota was the originally the fourth registry in the nation to be certified.
South Dakota finished its renewal process in May. The Department of Justice reaffirmed the state's compliance status this week. ..Source.. by Daily Journal
August 12, 2011
S. Dakota Supreme Court upholds law barring sex offenders from loitering near parks, schools
8-12-2011 South Dakota:
PIERRE, S.D. — A state law barring registered sex offenders from loitering near schools, public parks and public playgrounds is constitutional because it provides sufficient warning of what conduct is prohibited, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The high court's unanimous ruling upheld the conviction of a Sioux Falls man who argued the law is unconstitutional because it is too vague.
Kenneth Dale Stark, 61, was convicted of two counts of loitering in a community safety zone after law officers observed him near two public parks in Sioux Falls. A circuit judge then sentenced him to six years in prison.
Stark had registered as a sex offender after a prior conviction.
After a woman reported that someone in a vehicle registered to Stark was watching or following children going to swimming lessons in April 2009, law officers followed Stark after he left work the following day. They testified in his trial that they saw Stark circle one park for about 20 minutes and later saw him drive away after being parked near another park.
Stark's lawyer declined to comment on the case Thursday. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley was not immediately available to comment because he was attending a funeral.
During his trial and in the appeal, Stark argued the law was too vague and violated his constitutional freedom to loiter for innocent purposes. He contended he just drove past the first park and pulled over near the second park to yield to an oncoming car and allow some children to cross the street.
The Supreme Court said criminal laws must provide sufficient notice of what conduct is prohibited and must give law officers sufficient guidelines for enforcement.
South Dakota law specifically prohibits registered sex offenders from loitering within 500 feet of any school, public park or public playground for the purpose of observing or contacting minors, the Supreme Court ruled. That language limits application of the law to loitering that has an apparently harmful purpose or effect, the justices said.
"The statutes at issue were sufficient to provide Stark with notice that his conduct was prohibited, and they did not authorize the law enforcement officers in this case to act in an arbitrary or discriminatory manner," Justice Glen Severson wrote for the court.
Prosecutors provided sufficient evidence for the jury to find Stark's primary purpose for remaining near the parks was to observe or contact minors, the Supreme Court said. ..Source.. by CHET BROKAW
