If an individual was convicted of certain sex crimes, then that person’s name will need to be listed on the sex offender registry. While getting one’s name taken off the Tennessee sex offender registry can be quite a challenging and lengthy process, it is nevertheless possible under certain very specific conditions.
Sometimes a person has been convicted of a sex offense and their name has been added to the Tennessee sex offender registry solely because that person had to register in the sex offender registry of another state. In such cases, one can have their name taken off the Tennessee registry if their name is successfully removed from that other state’s sex offender registry.
If an individual was mandated to register in Tennessee’s sex offender registry because they were convicted of statutory rape, then they may have their name removed from the registry if the difference in age between victim’s age and the offender’s age was less than ten years at the time of the sex crime. An individual can also be eligible to apply for removal if the sex crime was classified as sexual and if the individual was on the registry for a minimum of five years and at least ten years had passed since the expiration of the sentencing.
When it comes to juvenile offenders, if their conviction was adjudicated in a juvenile court then they may have their identifying information taken off the sex offender registry if, and only if, the person has reached the age of 25 and has not been convicted of any subsequent qualifying crimes. Finally, it may be possible to have one’s name removed from the registry if the conviction was overturned, if one’s guilty plea has been withdrawn or if a petition for a post-conviction relief was successful.
Anyone interested in learning about how to remove one’s name from the sex offender registry may find it helpful to speak with a criminal defense attorney familiar with TN law on sexual misconduct.
Source: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, “Am I eligible for removal from the Sex Offender Registry?” accessed May 4, 2015
