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Overview of Zachary’s Law

Zachary’s Law was passed in 1994 in honor of Zachary Snider, a 10-year-old Cloverdale, Indiana boy who was molested and murdered by a neighbor who had been previously convicted of child molesting. Under Zachary’s Law, convicted sex offenders are required to register with the local law enforcement authority of their county of residence. The Zachary Law statute 5-2-12 was replaced in July of 2006 by Indiana statute IC 11-8-8. This statute now details the duties and responsibilities of law enforcement agencies across the state, as well as the responsibilities of the convicted offender.

THERE ARE 4 TYPES OF OFFENDERS:

THERE ARE TWO REGISTRATION PERIODS:

  • 10 Years
  • Lifetime
  • Sexually Violent Predator must register for life. Other offenders convicted of a sex offense against a victim who was under the age of 12, or offenders who were convicted of using force or the threat of force must register for life if the offense was committed after July 1, 2001. Offenders convicted in another jurisdiction must register for the period required by the other jurisdiction, or the 10-year or lifetime period required under Indiana law, whichever is longer.
  • Offenders not described above must register for 10 years. This registration period starts the day the offender is released from incarceration or the day the offender is placed on parole or probation, whichever occurs last.
  • SOME offenders are not permitted to live within 1000 feet of school property, not including the property of an institution providing post-secondary education (Colleges), a youth program center, or a public park pursuant to IC 35-42-4-11.
  • This rule depends on the offender’s classification AND the date they committed the offense. This means that this rule does not apply to SOME Sexually Violent Predators pursuant to the Indiana Court of Appeals case; Cundiff v. State of Indiana. See the Court of Appeals opinion at: https://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/pdf/12211601rts.pdf.
  • All sex or violent offenders are required to notify the local law enforcement authority (in Allen County this means The Allen County Sheriff’s Department) within three (3) days of any change in principal address, employment, schooling, or any other change in their required registration information.
  • If an offender has been living, working, or going to school at an address other than the address listed on the Allen County Sex Offender Registry or the Indiana Sex Offender Registry, that offender MAY be in violation of the law.
  • Please call the Allen County Sheriff’s Department’s S.O.R.N Team at (260) 449-3074 so they can determine the offender’s status. You can also submit information anonymously at www.indianasmostwanted.com.
  • Below you will find a brief overview of the law. You can view the complete text of all of Indiana’s statutes by visiting Access Indiana at www.in.gov.
  • Remember these 19 highlights are brief simplified statements concerning the law. Please refer to Indiana Code 11-8-8 for the complete text of the law.

AS A CONVICTED SEX OR VIOLENT OFFENDER YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DO THE FOLLOWING:

1. You must provide the following information: Your name, any name or alias you have been known by, date of birth, sex, race, height, weight, hair color, eye color, any scars, marks, or tattoos, Social Security number, driver’s license number or state identification card number, vehicle description, vehicle plate number, and vehicle identification number for any vehicle that you own or operate on a regular basis, principal residence address, other address where you spend more than seven (7) nights in a fourteen (14) day period, mailing address if different from your principal residence address, the name, and address of each of your employers in Indiana, the name and address of each campus or location where you are enrolled in school in Indiana, any electronic mail address, instant messaging username, electronic chat room username, or social networking web site username that you use or intend to use.

(See IC 11-8-8-8)

2. You must register your “principal address” with the Sheriff’s Department in the county in which you will be residing. You must also register any other address where you spend more than seven (7) nights in a 14-day period. This must be done within seven (7) days of your release from custody. If you are designated a Sexually Violent Predator you must register within three (3) days of your release from custody.

(See IC 11-8-8-8)

3. “Principal address” means the address where you spend the most time.

4. If you work, volunteer, attend school, or own real estate in a county different from where you live, you must register IN PERSON in each county where you own real estate, work, volunteer, or go to school. This must be done within three (3) days of arriving in that county or counties.

(See IC 11-8-8-7)

5. If ANY of the information listed in #1 above or IC 11-8-8-8 (a) changes, you must report in person to the local law enforcement authority having jurisdiction over your principal address not later than seventy-two (72) hours after the change and submit the new information to the local law enforcement authority. Upon request of the local law enforcement authority, you must permit a new photograph of yourself to be taken.

(See IC 11-8-8-8)

6. You must have and keep with you a valid driver’s license or state-issued identification card from your state of residence. Your driver’s license or state-issued identification card MUST contain your CURRENT address and physical description.

(See IC 11-8-8-15)

7. If you live at a temporary residence such as a homeless shelter, a group home, or a halfway house, or if you are homeless you must register IN PERSON to the Sheriff’s Department at least once every seven (7) days until you find a permanent residence.

(See IC 11-8-8-12)

8. If you are planning on moving to a different Indiana county or to another state you must report IN PERSON to the local sheriff’s department AND register with the new Indiana county of residence within three (3) days of the address change. If you move to a new state, it is your responsibility to obey the laws of the new state. If you report that you are moving to a new location and then do not move to that location, you must report in person to the local sheriff’s department having jurisdiction over your current location within seventy-two (72) hours of the date you first reported the change in location. If you fail to report in person, you could be prosecuted in the county you left, the county you intended to move to, or the county where you are currently located.

(See IC 11-8-8-11)

9. You are required to register IN PERSON at least once per year with the sheriff’s department in each county where you are required to register. Sexually violent predators are required to register IN PERSON every nine (90) days and they must register for LIFE. There are two types of registration periods, ten-year registration and lifetime registration. The registration period starts the day you are released from incarceration, or placed in a community transition program, a community corrections program, or placed on parole or probation, whichever occurs last. A person who is required to register as a sex or violent offender in any jurisdiction shall register for the period required by the other jurisdiction or the period described in this section, whichever is longer.

(See IC 11-8-8-14 and IC 11-8-8-19)

10. If you are visiting or vacationing in a different location for more than seven (7) days you should inform the sheriff’s department in your county of residence AND you must report IN PERSON to the sheriff’s department in the county in which you will be visiting.

(See IC 11-8-8-7)

11. The sheriff’s department is required to personally visit your principal address at least once per year, or once every 90 days if you have been designated a Sexually Violent Predator.

(See IC 11-8-8-13)

12. If you are a Sexually Violent Predator you are required to register IN PERSON at least once every 90 days with the Sheriff’s Department in each county where you are required to register. You must register for LIFE.

(See IC 11-8-8-14, a Sexually Violent Predator is defined in IC 35-38-1-7.5)

13. If you are a Sexually Violent Predator who will be away from your principal address for more than 72 hours you must inform the Sheriff’s Department, IN PERSON, of the following:

  • (1) That you will be absent from your principal residence for more than seventy-two (72) hours.
  • (2) The location where you will be located during the absence from your principal residence. The length of time you will be absent from your principal residence. AND; notify the local law enforcement authority in the visited county IN PERSON, of the following:
    • (a) That you will spend more than seventy-two (72) hours in the county.
    • (b) The location where you will be located while spending time in the county.
    • (c) The length of time you will remain in the county.

Upon request of the local law enforcement authority of the visited county, you shall provide the local law enforcement authority with any additional information that will assist the local law enforcement authority in determining your whereabouts during your stay in the county.

(See IC 11-8-8-18)

14. If you are a Sexually Violent Predator or an Offender Against Children, you are prohibited from residing within one thousand (1,000) feet of:

  • (1) school property; not including the property of an institution providing post-secondary education;
  • (2) a youth program center; or
  • (3) a public park.

(See IC 35-42-4-11)

15. If you are a Sexually Violent Predator or an Offender Against Children, you CANNOT establish a residence within one (1) mile of the residence of the victim of your sex offense.

(See IC 35-42-4-11)

16. If you are a Sexually Violent Predator or an Offender Against Children you CAN NOT work for pay or as a volunteer:

  • (1) on school property;
  • (2) at a youth program center; or
  • (3) at a public park.

(See IC 35-42-4-10)

17. You commit a felony if you knowingly or intentionally:

  • (1) fail to register;
  • (2) fail to register in every location where you are required to register;
  • (3) make a material misstatement or omission while registering as a sex or violent offender; or
  • (4) fail to register in person as required under 11-8-8; or
  • (5) do not reside at your registered address;

It is not a defense to a prosecution under this section that you were unable to pay the sex or violent offender registration fee or the sex or violent offender address change fee described under IC 36-2-13-5.6.

(See IC 11-8-8-17)

18. You must register for life if:

  • (a) You were convicted of:
    • (A) A sex or violent offense committed when you were 18 years of age or older against a victim who was less than 12 years old at the time of the crime; or
    • (B) A sex or violent offense in which you:
      • (1) Proximately caused serious bodily injury or death to the victim; or
      • (2) Used force or the threat of force against the victim or a member of the victim’s family unless the offense is Sexual Battery as a class D Felony; or
      • (3) Rendered the victim unconscious or otherwise incapable of giving voluntary consent.
  • (b) You are found to be a Sexually Violent Predator under I.C. 35-38-1-7.5; or
  • (c) You have been convicted of two or more unrelated offenses under IC 11-8-8-5(a). (See IC 11-8-8-19)
  • 19. Under Federal law, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, 18 United States Code 2250, if you travel to another state and fail to register as required, you are also subject to a federal prosecution that carries penalties of a fine and/or imprisonment up to 10 years. If you visit, live, work, volunteer, own real estate, or attend school in any other state, it is your responsibility to obey BOTH the federal law and the laws of that state.

(See IC 11-8-8-3)

20. Effective July 1, 2015, if you have any of the below-listed convictions you are also considered a “Serious Sex Offender”

  • (a) A “Serious Sex Offender” means a person required to register as a sex offender under IC 11-8-8 who is:
    • (1) found to be a sexually violent predator under IC 35-38-1-7.5; or
    • (2) convicted of one (1) or more of the following offenses:
      • (A) Child molesting (IC 35-42-4-3).
      • (B) Child exploitation (IC 35-42-4-4(b)).
      • (C) Possession of child pornography(IC 35-42-4-4(c))
      • (D) Vicarious sexual gratification (IC 35-42-4-5(a) and IC 35-42-4-5(b)).
      • (E) Performing sexual conduct in the presence of a minor (IC 35-42-4-5(c)).
      • (F) Child solicitation (IC 35-42-4-6).
      • (G) Child seduction (IC 35-42-4-7).
      • (H) Sexual misconduct with a minor (IC 35-42-4-9).
      • (I) Conspiracy or an attempt to commit an offense described in clauses (A) through (H).
      • (J) An offense in another jurisdiction that is substantially similar to an offense described in clauses (A) through (I).
  • (b) a serious sex offender who knowingly or intentionally enters school property commits unlawful entry by a serious sex offender, a Level 6 felony. (See IC 35-42-4-14)