Fort Collins Sex Offender Registration and Probation Violations Attorney
Two Charges That Tend to Go Hand in Hand

A man was charged with Failure to Register as a Sex Offender and Probation Violation- two crimes that are often charged together. Read more here.

I recently read a story about a man who was charged with Failure to Register as a Sex Offender and then subsequently a Probation Violation. I realized that these two charges often go hand in hand. We have seen many cases similar to this man’s. According to the news report, the man was being investigated for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender after failing to come in and verify his registration on his annual assigned date. Law enforcement checked at the residence he had previously registered multiple times, but never found him there. He was eventually located and arrested for the Sex Offender Registration Violation and a Probation Violation. So why do these two charges seem to get charged together often? Let’s take a closer look.

Larimer County Failure to Register as a Sex Offender Lawyer: What is the Definition of Failure to Register?

The Colorado law definition of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender – C.R.S. 18-3-412.5 – is:

A person who is required to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S., and who fails to comply with any of the requirements placed on registrants by said article, including but not limited to committing any of the acts specified in this subsection (1), commits the offense of failure to register as a sex offender:

(a) Failure to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S.;

(b) Submission of a registration form containing false information or submission of an incomplete registration form;

(c) Failure to provide information or knowingly providing false information to a probation department employee, to a community corrections administrator or his or her designee, or to a judge or magistrate when receiving notice pursuant to section 16-22-106 (1), (2), or (3), C.R.S., of the duty to register;

(d) If the person has been sentenced to a county jail, otherwise incarcerated, or committed, due to conviction of or disposition or adjudication for an offense specified in section 16-22-103, C.R.S., failure to provide notice of the address where the person intends to reside upon release as required in sections 16-22-106 and 16-22-107, C.R.S.;

(e) Knowingly providing false information to a sheriff or his or her designee, department of corrections personnel, or department of human services personnel concerning the address where the person intends to reside upon release from the county jail, the department of corrections, or the department of human services. Providing false information shall include, but is not limited to, providing false information as described in section 16-22-107 (4) (b), C.R.S.

(f) Failure when registering to provide the person’s current name and any former names;

(g) Failure to register with the local law enforcement agency in each jurisdiction in which the person resides upon changing an address, establishing an additional residence, or legally changing names;

(h) Failure to provide the person’s correct date of birth, to sit for or otherwise provide a current photograph or image, to provide a current set of fingerprints, or to provide the person’s correct address;

(i) Failure to complete a cancellation of registration form and file the form with the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the person will no longer reside;

(j) When the person’s place of residence is a trailer or motor home, failure to register an address at which the trailer or motor home is lawfully located pursuant to section 16-22-109 (1) (a.3), C.R.S.;

(k) Failure to register an e-mail address, instant-messaging identity, or chat room identity prior to using the address or identity if the person is required to register that information pursuant to section 16-22-108 (2.5), C.R.S.

Sex Offender Registration of Email Address in Larimer County

As you can see, there are many potential reasons a person could get charged with Failure to Register as a Sex Offender in Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County. Moving to a new address and not updating your registry within 5 days of the move could result in this charge. As seen in (k) above, it might even be a situation where a person who is required to register got a new computer and with it, a new email address. If the registrant does not report that new email address within the 5-day time period, he could be charged with Failure to Register.

Fort Collins Probation Revocation Lawyer

Many times, people who have recently been required to register as a sex offender in Loveland and Fort Collins are also on some sort of supervision, like probation. While on probation, a person is required to follow a list of rules called the terms and conditions. If, for any reason, a person has violated one of those rules, the probation office can file a complaint and the probation sentence can be revoked in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park. For someone under sex offender probation, getting a new charge, like Failure to Register as a Sex Offender, would be a violation of probation.


If you or someone you love has been charged with Failure to Register as a Sex Offender or facing a Probation Revocation, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 today. Together, we can protect your future.

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