Colorado Code § 18-3-412.5

Failure to register as a sex offender
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(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 e-mail 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.

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