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Some sex offender registry violations could be dismissed by courts

News File Photo The interior of the Alpena County Courthouse appears in this News file photo.

ALPENA — Some Northeast Michigan residents currently listed on the state’s sex offender registry could avoid prosecution for not following the registry’s rules after a Michigan Supreme Court ruling last week.

The high court said applying Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act retroactively — to people convicted of sex crimes before lawmakers amended the act in 2011 — violates state and federal laws.

Recent changes to the registry — which lawmakers modified earlier this year under orders from a federal judge — already removed some reporting requirements and other restrictions from registrants convicted before 2011.

Based on last week’s Supreme Court ruling, judges should also dismiss pending charges against pre-2011 offenders with open court cases for violating the terms of the registry, according to Jessica Zimbelman, managing attorney for the State Appellate Defender Office.

The ruling, which said the registry unconstitutionally punishes offenders, provides ammunition for more such challenges to the legality of the registry, Zimbelman told The News.

As it stands now, the registry requires police and courts to monitor everyone convicted of a sex crime, rather than only monitoring people considered to pose a risk of reoffending. Zimbelman said.

A message seeking comment was left with Hope Shores, an Alpena-based organization that advocates for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Michigan’s sex offender registry lists 64 offenders living within a five-mile radius of downtown Alpena. Of those, about three-quarters were convicted before 2011.

Six of those have not complied with reporting rules, according to the registry.

*Get help

If you or someone you know has been affected by domestic or sexual violence, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673), Hope Shores Alliance at 800-396-9129 or HopeShores.org, or visit RAINN.org.

If you would like to tell your story publicly to help others understand, The News is willing to listen. Call us at 989-358-5693 or email jriddle@TheAlpenaNews.com. The News does not identify survivors without their permission.

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