Being accused of a crime that is sexual in nature can bring a person’s reputation to near ruin. Any person in Missouri or elsewhere has the right to explore all available options to fight against sexual assault charges. In fact, there are several things a criminal defense attorney can do immediately to help a defendant protect his or her legal rights.
In a recent string of events, Missouri police officers conducted what they called a “sweep” in an area where there are supposedly a lot of registered sex offenders living. Apparently, a special task force was traveling through specific areas, looking for people who are registered as sex offenders to see if they have been abiding by the law. Officers mentioned that one of the registry regulations involves updating new personal information in the system.
One agent said that during the sweep, if a registered offender is discovered to have new information that was not updated in the system, an arrest warrant will be issued for that person. In the past, many people have questioned whether sex offender registry laws violate a person’s due process of rights. Some even say a defendant’s punishment should cease after a sentence has been served.
Whether sex offender laws should be considered excessive means of punishment is not really the issue. However, any person in Missouri who becomes a suspect in a sexual assault situation retains certain rights that are not to be violated during any investigatory or arrest process. Anyone with questions about state or federal laws that govern such matters may contact an experienced criminal lawyer for answers.
Source: kshb.com, “Jackson County sheriff conducts sex offender sweep“, Andres Gutierrez, Derek Kenyon, May 26, 2016