Massachusetts Law About Sex Offenders
See Also:
Massachusetts Laws
- MGL c.6 s.178C-178P: Sex Offender Registry Law.
- MGL c.123A: Sexually Dangerous Persons.
- MGL c.265, s.13B, 13B-1/2, and 13B-3/4. "Jessica's Law." Provides mandatory sentences for certain sexual assault crimes against children.
- MGL c.265, s.48 and MGL c.270, s.25 added by St.2010, c.256, s.119,122, effective May 4, 2012. Sex offenders may not drive ice cream trucks.
Massachusetts Regulations
803 CMR 1: Sex Offender Registry Board. NOTE: In Doe, Sex Offender Registry Bd. No. 16748 v. Sex Offender Registry Bd., 82 Mass. App. Ct. 152 (2012), the court held that " the board lacked authority to adopt regulations [803 CMR 1.37(c)] purporting to authorize it to declare that the classification level could be increased absent conviction of a new sex offense."
Federal Laws
42 USC 13663 Ineligibility of Dangerous Sex Offenders for Admission to Public Housing
State Agency
Selected Case Law
Coe, et al. v. Sex Offenders Registry Board, 442 Mass. 250 (2004). Permits posting of Level 3 Sex Offender information on the Internet.
Commonwealth v. Blake, 454 Mass. 267 (2009). The Massachusetts SJC decided that judges have within 30 days of a trial to issue rulings in regards to deciding whether a defendant should be held indefinitely as a sexually dangerous offender.
Commonwealth v. Cory, 454 Mass. 559 (2009). Because MGL c.265, § 47 is punitive in effect, a sex offender convicted before the effective date of § 47 (December 20, 2006) cannot be required "to be monitored by the probation department with a GPS tracking device during his probationary term" as required by that statute.
Commonwealth v. Hunt, 462 Mass. 807 (2012). "Where sex offender treatment is conditioned on a waiver of confidentiality, refusal of treatment alone is insufficient to support an inference that the prisoner does not want to be treated. ...
Therefore, although evidence that a defendant in an SDP civil commitment proceeding did not receive sex offender treatment is admissible, we conclude that it is error to admit evidence that a defendant refused sex offender treatment where he could receive such treatment only by waiving confidentiality." 
Doe v. Boston Police Commissioner, 460 Mass. 342 (2011). A level three sex offender was entitled to a hearing before MGL c.6, s.178K (2)(e) (barring level three offenders from rest homes) could be applied against him.
Doe v. Sex Offenders Registry Board, 460 Mass. 336 (2011). The right to a classification hearing is not waived by failure to appear. The Sex Offender Registry Board exceeded its authority in enacting 803 CMR 1.13(2).
Doe, Sex Offender Registry Bd. No. 16748 v. Sex Offender Registry Bd., 82 Mass. App. Ct. 152 (2012). "the board lacked authority to adopt regulations [803 CMR 1.37(c)] purporting to authorize it to declare that the classification level could be increased absent conviction of a new sex offense."
Search Sex Offender Information
Obtaining Information About Sex Offenders, Mass. Sex Offender Registry Board. How to Search Sex Offender Information in Massachusetts.
National Sex Offender Public Registry, US Dept. of Justice. Allows the user to search sex offender information from all states' individual databases at the same time. Searches must be done by name, not just by locality.
Other Web Sources
Information for Sex Offenders, Sex Offender Registry Board.
Offenses Requiring Sex Offender Registration, Mass. District Court. Table lists offenses requiring registration by MGL chapter and section.
Sex Offender Registration and Notification, Committee for Public Counsel Services.
Sexually Dangerous Person Commitments, Committee for Public Counsel Services.