Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler

"From Alabama to Zion National Park"

Before I wrecked my life and ended up on Florida’s Sex Offender registry I always intended to travel in my retirement. Now, after prison and probation, I am in fact retired, and “free,” and have not given up my dream of seeing natural wonders and historic sites, visiting great cities, traveling to as many places as possible within the restrictions placed on me as a registered citizen.

While I may attempt traveling the world in the future, everything I’ve heard and read about International Megan’s Law requirements makes it sound difficult and even dangerous for a registered person. I therefore decided that my own home country is a pretty big place that, so far at least, nobody can keep my out of. Including all of its states and territories the United States spans half the globe and extends from the arctic to the equator. A guy could spend his whole retirement traveling this great land and never really see all of it.

As many of you may have discovered, however, interstate travel as a registered citizen isn’t as simple as getting in your car and driving away. Unless you don’t mind the prospect of inadvertently violating the registry laws of either your own state or whatever state you’re in at the time and ending up back in prison for a registry violation, it’s crucial to be conversant with and obey the registry laws of every state you plan to pass thru, which for me is every US state and territory.

The starting point for my research was the chart “Summary of State and Territorial Registration Laws Concerning Visiting and Temporary Residence by Adults” available on the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offender Laws (ACSOL) website. It’s a good summary chart, but it hadn’t been updated since 2018. Using the state statute references in the ACSOL chart I downloaded every state and territory’s registry laws, read them all, updated the information on the chart and corrected any errors that I found.

I also obtained a list of phone numbers for all 50 states’ SOR offices, and called every state to ask supplemental questions. As you might expect, some SOR offices don’t answer the phone and never call back if you leave repeated messages. Some states SOR offices have outgoing messages that don’t allow you to leave a message but only refer you to unhelpful online FAQ documents. Nevertheless, I found that when I was able to speak to a real person (which was about half the time) the SOR office personnel were uniformly courteous and willing to provide helpful answers to my questions.

The result of my research is the new and improved “Summary of State and Territorial Registration Laws Concerning Visiting and Temporary Residence by Adults” chart. CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW. My plan is to keep re-researching and updating this chart for at least the next ten years (i.e. 2021-2031) while I travel the USA.

However, all of this research – whether the state laws themselves, written responses to letters, or the oral responses by a random person in a state SOR office – may bear no relation at all to what you or I may experience if pulled over by an over-eager redneck sheriff’s deputy because you have a blown tail light. Do you want to be the first person to test the limits of any of this? I’ll bet the answer to that is NO.

So be careful out there, and safe travels!

Legal Disclaimer

I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY. THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR QUALIFIED LEGAL ADVICE.

Because sex offender laws are frequently revised by legislatures and reviewed by courts, the most current version of the applicable laws should be consulted and can generally be found by using your search engine to locate the statutes referenced on this site. This website does not include all laws that may apply to registrants in any particular state.

NEW! Updated 9/24! State & Territorial Visitor Registration Laws Guide

Click HERE. It'll pop up on your screen in a separate window.

Summary Map Click HERE. It'll pop up on your screen in a separate window.

NEW! Updated 9/24! State & Territorial Visitor Registration Laws for FORMER & LONG-TERM Registrants

MANY REGISTRANTS DO NOT UNDERSTAND that most states have registration laws that apply to out-of-state visitors even if you have served your registration duty in your state of offense and are no longer required to register there. Violating these states' laws during your visit can get you caught in these states' registries or even incarcerated EVEN THOUGH you have been removed from your own state's registry!

Furthermore, you may be surprised to learn that some states' registration laws may not apply to visiting registrants who have, in your state of offense, served your registration duty for the number of years specified by law in the state you are visiting - even if you are still on the registry in your state of offense.

Because confusion surrounding this issue will be a growing problem as more and more Americans (including myself) become long-term or former registrants, I have researched the registration laws of every U.S. state and territory related to this issue.

Click HERE to see this new research.

Recorded 6/23: My 2023 NARSOL conference domestic travel presentation

I have given several presentations on domestic travel at NARSOL and other national conferences. My presentation at the 2023 NARSOL conferences was recorded and is now available as a You Tube video.

This is about an hour long but contains a lot of information about domestic travel, so Click HERE to watch.

The Traveling Registrant

The Once Fallen website offers this must-read information for all registrants planning to travel. Click here: http://www.oncefallen.com/travel.html

Unwelcome Images

My personal story of prison, probation and ... redemption? is posted on Medium. If you're interested you can click here:

https://therabbitisin.com/unwelcome-images-c06a3760b11a

Your first hurdle:

Permission to leave town

My state of offense (Florida) has a registry law that, like those of many other states, is completely silent on the question of what notice I as a registered person have to provide in the event that I intend to travel out of state temporarily but have no intention of establishing any “permanent residence,” “temporary residence” or “transient residence” in any other state. Instead, Florida’s SOR law reads as follows:

“A sexual offender who intends to establish a permanent, temporary, or transient residence in another state or jurisdiction other than the State of Florida shall report in person to the sheriff of the county of current residence within 48 hours before the date he or she intends to leave this state to establish residence in another state or jurisdiction … The sexual offender shall provide to the sheriff the address, municipality, county, [and] state … of intended residence … The department shall notify the statewide law enforcement agency, or a comparable agency, in the intended state [or] jurisdiction … of the sexual offender’s intended residence. The failure of a sexual offender to provide his or her intended place of residence is punishable as [a third degree felony].”

943.0435(7) FS.

Apparently, the drafters of Florida’s SOR law – and the many similarly worded statutes of other US states – never anticipated that a registered person would ever leave their state for any other reason than to establish a “permanent residence,” “temporary residence” or “transient residence” wherever they're going. Therefore I assume that I and many of you could legitimately assume we would be within our legal rights to just leave our state without telling anybody as long as you have no intention of, and scrupulously avoid, establishing any kind of residence that would violate your state’s statutes.

However, I DO NOT recommend doing this under any circumstances.

Why? Because there’s a 120% chance that your local sheriff’s department believes you have to tell them you’re leaving and where you’re going no matter what your state’s SOR law says or doesn’t say. Suppose you get pulled over somewhere for having a blown tail light. The sheriff’s deputy looks you up and discovers you’re an out-of-state registered offender. Next, he calls local law enforcement in your home state and asks, “Hey, did y’all know this guy was here?” They of course will say “No, we didn’t even know he left our state and we think that’s a registry violation – he is an ABSCONDER!” at which point you’ll be arrested, handcuffed and sent back to prison.

I don’t know about you, but that’s not how I want to spend my vacation.

Therefore I strongly suggest that you visit your local sheriff’s department or registry office and inform them of your intention to travel. I did this for the first time in October 2020, and have traveled out of state frequently since then, each time making sure to do so “within 48 hours before the date he or she intends to leave this state.”

Having gained some experience with traveling while registered I offer you the following advice:

Always notify your local law enforcement of your intention to travel and provide as much detail as possible about your travel plans. In particular, it helps to have at least one specific destination for your trip. Your local law enforcement is expecting you to have a destination. You probably do have at least one destination, and if it’s not a friend or relative’s home you probably had to make some kind of reservation ahead of time. Either way you know at least one address where you’ll be, so give it to the staff person behind the glass. They will feel more comfortable with this even if your plans include extended time to get to and return from the specific destination(s), during which you’ll be enjoying yourself.

I have found that if I give a general description of your travel, like some of the states you’ll be passing through, the staff person will happily enter that onto whatever form their filling out as “additional notes.” This may actually help you in case you get pulled over someplace because when the sheriff’s deputy calls your home state it’s all right there in the computer.

Recently I established a summer home in Iowa. Unlike Florida and many other states, Iowa’s registry law explicitly, but clumsily, addresses out-of-state travel. It says:

“[A] sex offender, within five business days of a change, shall also appear in person to notify the sheriff of the county of principal residence [i.e. the principle residence in Iowa], of any location in which the offender is staying when away from the principal residence of the offender for more than five days, by identifying the location and the period of time the offender is staying in such location.” 692A.105 IS.

While I was at my new Iowa sheriff’s department registering, getting photographed, fingerprinted and providing a DNA sample, I took the opportunity to ask how travel was going to work in my new state. I pointed out that although I can always provide a destination when traveling, there is no way I’ll be able provide locations and addresses ahead of time for every campground or motel room I might be staying at along the way.

The lady behind the bullet-proof glass stated that their policy for this type of travel is that I will need to keep a travel log for each trip, which I will need to turn in upon my return. This just shows how local sheriff’s departments come up with some policy to deal with these situations. As you know from reading elsewhere on this blog, I recommend you always keep a travel log as well as all receipts just in case you need to prove your whereabouts, so this sheriff’s department requirement, while ridiculous, turns out not to be a problem for me or anyone following my recommendations.

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Maine

Yes, of course I visited Portland Head Light

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

M.R.S. 2019

Offenses committed before Jan. 1, 2013: M.R.S. 34A §§ 11201 through 11256

Offenses committed on or after Jan. 1, 2013: M.R.S. 34A §§ 11271 through 11304

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Convictions before Jan. 1, 2013: Registrants have 5 days to register with the state Bureau of Identification (generally in writing) and 24 hours to register with local law enforcement using a form provided by the Bureau. §§11222-11223.

Employees and students (and probably visitors) in the state must register with the bureau w/in 5 days and with local law enforcement w/in 24 hours of working for either (1) more than 14 consecutive days in the state, or (2) for an aggregate period exceeding 30 days in a calendar year. §11224.

Convictions on or after Jan. 1, 2013: Registrants have 3 days to register with the state Bureau of Identification (generally in writing) and 24 hours to register with local law enforcement upon establishing a residence, using a form provided by the Bureau. §§11282-11284. “Residence” means 14 consecutive days in the state, or 30 days in one year. §11273(12).

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Restriction on Contact with Minors: For registrants convicted after June 30, 1992 of an offense against a person younger than 14, Maine prohibits the knowing initiation of contact with a person younger than 14 in a “sex offender restricted zone,” unless the parent consents or the contact is for employment purposes. “Sex offender restricted zones” include schools other than high schools, day cares, parks, playgrounds, and other places “where children are the primary users.” M.R.S. § 17-A:261.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life. Duration of reg. requirement and frequency of updates are determined by date convicted and tier. §§11222, 11285.

Whale-watching tours in three consecutive years - 4; Whales seen - 0

Most recent visit: May 2023

Maine’s rules for visiting registrants shouldn’t be too difficult to follow. Registration Triggers and Deadlines for convictions before January 1, 2013 are confusing to read, but the bottom line is they’re about the same as for on or after January 1, 2013. Fourteen consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year establishes a “residence,” so just don’t stay that long.

As for presence restrictions, if your offense was against a person younger than 14 (and I would always assume that includes a pornography offense), Maine prohibits the knowing initiation of contact with a person younger than 14 in a “sex offender restricted zone,” unless the parent consents or the contact is for employment purposes. “Sex offender restricted zones” are the usual places.

As I read over these restrictions before entering Maine in July 2022, my reaction was, no problem. I only planned to be in Maine for four days (including partial days) while my family was staying with my ex-wife’s cousins on Long Island, and of course, like any of you I had absolutely no intention of initiating contact with any person younger than 14 years, or much of anybody else for that matter. I was there with just one purpose in mind – to go whale watching.

As I had the year before I overnighted at state park campgrounds, which are a little on the expensive side ($28-$38 per night for out-of-staters depending on the park) but quite well equipped, including nice clean hot water showers.

On my trip to Maine the previous year (May 2021) I had snagged a seat on a whale watching tour boat, only to see no whales. The silver lining was that the tour boat company issued “standby tickets” to all passengers, good through the end of the 2022 season. So now I was back to try to use my standby ticket and maybe see whales this time.

Although it was peak season when you would expect it to be pretty difficult to use a standby ticket, the tour boat company was also running more frequent tours in July than they had been in May and I showed up for a mid-week (Thursday) morning tour on which there are often a few unfilled seats – in this case 20 (out of 125).

Tadahh! Off we went – but unfortunately, no whales!

The tour boat company issued more standby tickets to all passengers. Before returning to my campsite I asked the nice lady at the ticket booth how things were looking for the next morning’s (Friday) tour and she said, “Not good. Right now there’s 16 seats available. If I put you on the list now you’ll be Standby #2.” I said “Please do that and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Next morning, 15 minutes before boarding, the nice lady at the ticket booth announced, “There are three standby seats available.” I was #2. Tadahh! Off we went – but again, no whales! I told the tour guide lady. “I must be jinxing your tour!” but she replied “No, this just happens sometimes.”

“Well there’s a limit to how much disappointment I can take in one vacation,” I said. Besides, my final (partial) day in Maine would be a weekend day and the tours were already booked up. The tour boat company issued yet more standby tickets to all passengers, good until the end of the 2023 season.

Which brings me to May 2023. After leaving New Jersey where I had attended my brother’s interment and celebration of life, I figured, well, this is probably the only time this year that I’ll be in the Northeast and so my only opportunity to head up to Maine and use my standby ticket. Checking online I noticed that this third week of May was also the very first week of the whale watching season, so off I went.

What’s the worst that can happen, right? If I don’t see any whales I leave with yet another standby ticket.

Of course, that’s exactly what happened. Oh well – we’ll see what happens next year when I try this for the fourth time!

Atwo Zee, Registered Traveler

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

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