Section 2950.13 | State registry of sex offenders - duties of attorney general.
(A) The attorney general shall do all of the following:
(1) No later than July 1, 1997, establish and maintain a state registry of sex offenders and child-victim offenders that is housed at the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and that contains all of the registration, change of residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address, and verification information the bureau receives pursuant to sections 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, and 2950.06 of the Revised Code regarding each person who is convicted of, pleads guilty to, has been convicted of, or has pleaded guilty to a sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense and each person who is or has been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense and is classified a juvenile offender registrant or is an out-of-state juvenile offender registrant based on that adjudication, all of the information the bureau receives pursuant to section 2950.14 of the Revised Code, and any notice of an order terminating or modifying an offender's or delinquent child's duty to comply with sections 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, and 2950.06 of the Revised Code the bureau receives pursuant to section 2152.84, 2152.85, or 2950.15 of the Revised Code. For a person who was convicted of or pleaded guilty to the sexually oriented offense or child-victim related offense, the registry also shall indicate whether the person was convicted of or pleaded guilty to the offense in a criminal prosecution or in a serious youthful offender case. The registry shall not be open to inspection by the public or by any person other than a person identified in division (A) of section 2950.08 of the Revised Code. In addition to the information and material previously identified in this division, the registry shall include all of the following regarding each person who is listed in the registry:
(a) A citation for, and the name of, all sexually oriented offenses or child-victim oriented offenses of which the person was convicted, to which the person pleaded guilty, or for which the person was adjudicated a delinquent child and that resulted in a registration duty, and the date on which those offenses were committed;
(b) The text of the sexually oriented offenses or child-victim oriented offenses identified in division (A)(1)(a) of this section as those offenses existed at the time the person was convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or was adjudicated a delinquent child for committing those offenses, or a link to a database that sets forth the text of those offenses;
(c) A statement as to whether the person is a tier I sex offender/child-victim offender, a tier II sex offender/child-victim offender, or a tier III sex offender/child-victim offender for the sexually oriented offenses or child-victim oriented offenses identified in division (A)(1)(a) of this section;
(d) The community supervision status of the person, including, but not limited to, whether the person is serving a community control sanction and the nature of any such sanction, whether the person is under supervised release and the nature of the release, or regarding a juvenile, whether the juvenile is under any type of release authorized under Chapter 2152. or 5139. of the Revised Code and the nature of any such release;
(e) The offense and delinquency history of the person, as determined from information gathered or provided under sections 109.57 and 2950.14 of the Revised Code;
(f) The bureau of criminal identification and investigation tracking number assigned to the person if one has been so assigned, the federal bureau of investigation number assigned to the person if one has been assigned and the bureau of criminal identification and investigation is aware of the number, and any other state identification number assigned to the person of which the bureau is aware;
(g) Fingerprints and palmprints of the person;
(h) A DNA specimen, as defined in section 109.573 of the Revised Code, from the person;
(i) Whether the person has any outstanding arrest warrants;
(j) Whether the person is in compliance with the person's duties under this chapter.
(2) In consultation with local law enforcement representatives and no later than July 1, 1997, adopt rules that contain guidelines necessary for the implementation of this chapter;
(3) In consultation with local law enforcement representatives, adopt rules for the implementation and administration of the provisions contained in section 2950.11 of the Revised Code that pertain to the notification of neighbors of an offender or a delinquent child who has committed a sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense and is in a category specified in division (F)(1) of that section and rules that prescribe a manner in which victims of a sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense committed by an offender or a delinquent child who is in a category specified in division (B)(1) of section 2950.10 of the Revised Code may make a request that specifies that the victim would like to be provided the notices described in divisions (A)(1) and (2) of section 2950.10 of the Revised Code;
(4) In consultation with local law enforcement representatives and through the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, prescribe the forms to be used by judges and officials pursuant to section 2950.03 or 2950.032 of the Revised Code to advise offenders and delinquent children of their duties of filing a notice of intent to reside, registration, notification of a change of residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address and registration of the new school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address, as applicable, and address verification under sections 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, and 2950.06 of the Revised Code, and prescribe the forms to be used by sheriffs relative to those duties of filing a notice of intent to reside, registration, change of residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address notification, and address verification;
(5) Make copies of the forms prescribed under division (A)(4) of this section available to judges, officials, and sheriffs;
(6) Through the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, provide the notifications, the information and materials, and the documents that the bureau is required to provide to appropriate law enforcement officials and to the federal bureau of investigation pursuant to sections 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, and 2950.06 of the Revised Code;
(7) Through the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, maintain the verification forms returned under the address verification mechanism set forth in section 2950.06 of the Revised Code;
(8) In consultation with representatives of the officials, judges, and sheriffs, adopt procedures for officials, judges, and sheriffs to use to forward information, photographs, and fingerprints to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation pursuant to the requirements of sections 2950.03, 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, 2950.06, and 2950.11 of the Revised Code;
(9) In consultation with the director of education, the director of job and family services, and the director of rehabilitation and correction, adopt rules that contain guidelines to be followed by boards of education of a school district, chartered nonpublic schools or other schools not operated by a board of education, preschool programs, child care centers, type A family child care homes, licensed type B family child care homes, and institutions of higher education regarding the proper use and administration of information received pursuant to section 2950.11 of the Revised Code relative to an offender or delinquent child who has committed a sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense and is in a category specified in division (F)(1) of that section;
(10) In consultation with local law enforcement representatives and no later than July 1, 1997, adopt rules that designate a geographic area or areas within which the notice described in division (B) of section 2950.11 of the Revised Code must be given to the persons identified in divisions (A)(2) to (8) and (A)(10) of that section;
(11) Through the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, not later than January 1, 2004, establish and operate on the internet a sex offender and child-victim offender database that contains information for every offender who has committed a sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense and registers in any county in this state pursuant to section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code and for every delinquent child who has committed a sexually oriented offense, is a public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant, and registers in any county in this state pursuant to either such section. The bureau shall not include on the database the identity of any offender's or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant's victim, any offender's or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant's social security number, the name of any school or institution of higher education attended by any offender or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant, the name of the place of employment of any offender or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant, any tracking or identification number described in division (A)(1)(f) of this section, or any information described in division (C)(7) of section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code. The bureau shall provide on the database, for each offender and each public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant, at least the information specified in divisions (A)(11)(a) to (h) of this section. Otherwise, the bureau shall determine the information to be provided on the database for each offender and public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant and shall obtain that information from the information contained in the state registry of sex offenders and child-victim offenders described in division (A)(1) of this section, which information, while in the possession of the sheriff who provided it, is a public record open for inspection as described in section 2950.081 of the Revised Code. The database is a public record open for inspection under section 149.43 of the Revised Code, and it shall be searchable by offender or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant name, by county, by zip code, and by school district. The database shall provide a link to the web site of each sheriff who has established and operates on the internet a sex offender and child-victim offender database that contains information for offenders and public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrants who register in that county pursuant to section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code, with the link being a direct link to the sex offender and child-victim offender database for the sheriff. The bureau shall provide on the database, for each offender and public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant, at least the following information:
(a) The information described in divisions (A)(1)(a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section relative to the offender or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant;
(b) The address of the offender's or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant's school, institution of higher education, or place of employment provided in a registration form;
(c) The information described in division (C)(6) of section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code;
(d) A chart describing which sexually oriented offenses and child-victim oriented offenses are included in the definitions of tier I sex offender/child-victim offender, tier II sex offender/child-victim offender, and tier III sex offender/child-victim offender;
(e) Fingerprints and palmprints of the offender or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant and a DNA specimen from the offender or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant;
(f) The information set forth in division (B) of section 2950.11 of the Revised Code;
(g) Any outstanding arrest warrants for the offender or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant;
(h) The offender's or public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrant's compliance status with duties under this chapter.
(12) Develop software to be used by sheriffs in establishing on the internet a sex offender and child-victim offender database for the public dissemination of some or all of the information and materials described in division (A) of section 2950.081 of the Revised Code that are public records under that division, that are not prohibited from inclusion by division (B) of that section, and that pertain to offenders and public registry-qualified juvenile offender registrants who register in the sheriff's county pursuant to section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code and for the public dissemination of information the sheriff receives pursuant to section 2950.14 of the Revised Code and, upon the request of any sheriff, provide technical guidance to the requesting sheriff in establishing on the internet such a database;
(13) Through the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, not later than January 1, 2004, establish and operate on the internet a database that enables local law enforcement representatives to remotely search by electronic means the state registry of sex offenders and child-victim offenders described in division (A)(1) of this section and any information and materials the bureau receives pursuant to sections 2950.04, 2950.041, 2950.05, 2950.06, and 2950.14 of the Revised Code. The database shall enable local law enforcement representatives to obtain detailed information regarding each offender and delinquent child who is included in the registry, including, but not limited to the offender's or delinquent child's name, aliases, residence address, name and address of any place of employment, school, institution of higher education, if applicable, license plate number of each vehicle identified in division (C)(5) of section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code to the extent applicable, victim preference if available, date of most recent release from confinement if applicable, fingerprints, and palmprints, all of the information and material described in divisions (A)(1)(a) to (h) of this section regarding the offender or delinquent child, and other identification parameters the bureau considers appropriate. The database is not a public record open for inspection under section 149.43 of the Revised Code and shall be available only to law enforcement representatives as described in this division. Information obtained by local law enforcement representatives through use of this database is not open to inspection by the public or by any person other than a person identified in division (A) of section 2950.08 of the Revised Code.
(14) Through the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, maintain a list of requests for notice about a specified offender or delinquent child or specified geographical notification area made pursuant to division (J) of section 2950.11 of the Revised Code and, when an offender or delinquent child changes residence to another county, forward any requests for information about that specific offender or delinquent child to the appropriate sheriff;
(15) Through the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, establish and operate a system for the immediate notification by electronic means of the appropriate officials in other states specified in this division each time an offender or delinquent child registers a residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address under section 2950.04 or 2950.041 of the Revised Code or provides a notice of a change of address or registers a new address under division (A) or (B) of section 2950.05 of the Revised Code. The immediate notification by electronic means shall be provided to the appropriate officials in each state in which the offender or delinquent child is required to register a residence, school, institution of higher education, or place of employment address. The notification shall contain the offender's or delinquent child's name and all of the information the bureau receives from the sheriff with whom the offender or delinquent child registered the address or provided the notice of change of address or registered the new address.
(B) The attorney general in consultation with local law enforcement representatives, may adopt rules that establish one or more categories of neighbors of an offender or delinquent child who, in addition to the occupants of residential premises and other persons specified in division (A)(1) of section 2950.11 of the Revised Code, must be given the notice described in division (B) of that section.
(C) No person, other than a local law enforcement representative, shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1) Gain or attempt to gain access to the database established and operated by the attorney general, through the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, pursuant to division (A)(13) of this section.
(2) Permit any person to inspect any information obtained through use of the database described in division (C)(1) of this section, other than as permitted under that division.
(D) As used in this section, "local law enforcement representatives" means representatives of the sheriffs of this state, representatives of the municipal chiefs of police and marshals of this state, and representatives of the township constables and chiefs of police of the township police departments or police district police forces of this state.
Last updated August 16, 2023 at 5:17 PM
Available Versions of this Section
- January 1, 2014 – Senate Bill 316 - 129th General Assembly [ View January 1, 2014 Version ]
- October 3, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly [ View October 3, 2023 Version ]
- January 1, 2025 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly [ View January 1, 2025 Version ]