Effective 28 Aug 2018

589.401. Removal from registry, petition, procedure. — 1. A person on the sexual offender registry may file a petition in the division of the circuit court in the county or city not within a county in which the offense requiring registration was committed to have his or her name removed from the sexual offender registry.

2. A person who is required to register in this state because of an offense that was adjudicated in another jurisdiction shall file his or her petition for removal according to the laws of the state, territory, tribal, or military jurisdiction, the District of Columbia, or foreign country in which his or her offense was adjudicated. Upon the grant of the petition for removal in the jurisdiction where the offense was adjudicated, such judgment may be registered in this state by sending the information required under subsection 5 of this section as well as one authenticated copy of the order granting removal from the sexual offender registry in the jurisdiction where the offense was adjudicated to the court in the county or city not within a county in which the offender is required to register. On receipt of a request for registration removal, the registering court shall cause the order to be filed as a foreign judgment, together with one copy of the documents and information, regardless of their form. The petitioner shall be responsible for costs associated with filing the petition.

3. A person required to register as a tier III offender shall not file a petition under this section unless the requirement to register results from a juvenile adjudication.

4. The petition shall be dismissed without prejudice if the following time periods have not elapsed since the date the person was required to register for his or her most recent offense under sections 589.400 to 589.425:

(1) For a tier I offense, ten years;

(2) For a tier II offense, twenty-five years; or

(3) For a tier III offense adjudicated delinquent, twenty-five years.

5. The petition shall be dismissed without prejudice if it fails to include any of the following:

(1) The petitioner's:

(a) Full name, including any alias used by the individual;

(b) Sex;

(c) Race;

(d) Date of birth;

(e) Last four digits of the Social Security number;

(f) Address; and

(g) Place of employment, school, or volunteer status;

(2) The offense and tier of the offense that required the petitioner to register;

(3) The date the petitioner was adjudicated for the offense;

(4) The date the petitioner was required to register;

(5) The case number and court, including the county or city not within a county, that entered the original order for the adjudicated sex offense;

(6) Petitioner's fingerprints on an applicant fingerprint card;

(7) If the petitioner was pardoned or an offense requiring registration was reversed, vacated, or set aside, an authenticated copy of the order; and

(8) If the petitioner is currently registered under applicable law and has not been adjudicated for failure to register in any jurisdiction and does not have any charges pending for failure to register.

6. The petition shall name as respondents the Missouri state highway patrol and the chief law enforcement official in the county or city not within a county in which the petition is filed.

7. All proceedings under this section shall be governed under the Missouri supreme court rules of civil procedure.

8. The person seeking removal or exemption from the registry shall provide the prosecuting attorney in the circuit court in which the petition is filed with notice of the petition. The prosecuting attorney may present evidence in opposition to the requested relief or may otherwise demonstrate the reasons why the petition should be denied. Failure of the person seeking removal or exemption from the registry to notify the prosecuting attorney of the petition shall result in an automatic denial of such person's petition.

9. The prosecuting attorney in the circuit court in which the petition is filed shall have access to all applicable records concerning the petitioner including, but not limited to, criminal history records, mental health records, juvenile records, and records of the department of corrections or probation and parole.

10. The prosecuting attorney shall make reasonable efforts to notify the victim of the crime for which the person was required to register of the petition and the dates and times of any hearings or other proceedings in connection with such petition.

11. The court shall not enter an order directing the removal of the petitioner's name from the sexual offender registry unless it finds the petitioner:

(1) Has not been adjudicated or does not have charges pending for any additional nonsexual offense for which imprisonment for more than one year may be imposed since the date the offender was required to register for his or her current tier level;

(2) Has not been adjudicated or does not have charges pending for any additional sex offense that would require registration under sections 589.400 to 589.425 since the date the offender was required to register for his or her current tier level, even if the offense was punishable by less than one year imprisonment;

(3) Has successfully completed any required periods of supervised release, probation, or parole without revocation since the date the offender was required to register for his or her current tier level;

(4) Has successfully completed an appropriate sex offender treatment program as approved by a court of competent jurisdiction or the Missouri department of corrections; and

(5) Is not a current or potential threat to public safety.

12. In order to meet the criteria required by subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection 11 of this section, the fingerprints filed in the case shall be examined by the Missouri state highway patrol. The petitioner shall be responsible for all costs associated with the fingerprint-based criminal history check of both state and federal files under section 43.530.

13. If the petition is denied due to an adjudication in violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection 11 of this section, the petitioner shall not file a new petition under this section until:

(1) Fifteen years have passed from the date of the adjudication resulting in the denial of relief if the petitioner is classified as a tier I offender;

(2) Twenty-five years have passed from the date of adjudication resulting in the denial of relief if the petitioner is classified as a tier II offender; or

(3) Twenty-five years have passed from the date of the adjudication resulting in the denial of relief if the petitioner is classified as a tier III offender on the basis of a juvenile adjudication.

14. If the petition is denied due to the petitioner having charges pending in violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection 11 of this section, the petitioner shall not file a new petition under this section until:

(1) The pending charges resulting in the denial of relief have been finally disposed of in a manner other than adjudication; or

(2) If the pending charges result in an adjudication, the necessary time period has elapsed under subsection 13 of this section.

15. If the petition is denied for reasons other than those outlined in subsection 11 of this section, no successive petition requesting such relief shall be filed for at least five years from the date the judgment denying relief is entered.

16. If the court finds the petitioner is entitled to have his or her name removed from the sexual offender registry, the court shall enter judgment directing the removal of the name. A copy of the judgment shall be provided to the respondents named in the petition.

17. Any person subject to the judgment requiring his or her name to be removed from the sexual offender registry is not required to register under sections 589.400 to 589.425 unless such person is required to register for an offense that was different from that listed on the judgment of removal.

18. The court shall not deny the petition unless the petition failed to comply with the provisions of sections 589.400 to 589.425 or the prosecuting attorney provided evidence demonstrating the petition should be denied.

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(L. 2018 S.B. 655)