Megan’s Law and buying a home

On October 19, 1994, the neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death. As a result of this tragic event, the Kankas family was determined to create a system to notify the public with information about the residential locations of sex offenders.

Under Colorado law, sex offenders have the right to live in any location they wish as long as they are properly registered. There is no authority granted by a police department or city government to control these circumstances.

However, there is a duty for local law enforcement to alert the public to the availability of sex offender registration lists, and to maintain reasonable accuracy of the list.

Megan’s Law requires identified sex offenders to register with local law enforcement officials and the federal law requires states to establish a list of convicted sex offenders. In Colorado, C.R.S.

18-3-412.5 requires the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to post on the Internet identifying information including photos of sex offenders sentenced as sexually violent predators or convicted of a sexual offense involving children.

CRS 16-22-112(5) states: “The Colorado sex offender registry includes only those persons who have been required by law to register and who are in compliance with the sex offender registration laws. Persons should not rely solely on the sex offender registry as a safeguard against perpetrators of sexual assault in their communities. The crime for which a person is convicted may not accurately reflect the level of risk.”

All states have now adopted some form of Megan’s Law. There are some states requiring real estate licensees to disclose that a known sex offender lives in the neighborhood. Currently in Colorado, there is no requirement for a seller or a real estate licensee to disclose the presence of a registered sex offender living in a neighborhood. Colorado’s legislation places the duty of releasing the information on the local law enforcement agency.

However, a position statement CP-29, issued by the Colorado Real Estate Commission states, “It is the position of the Real Estate Commission that all real estate licensees should inform a potential buyer to contact local law enforcement officials for further information if the presence of a registered sex offender is a matter of concern to the Buyer.”

At the state level, state law limits which sex offenders are allowed to be posted by the police department.Misdemeanor convictions or juveniles adjudicated for sex crimes are not allowed to be on the list. This list is maintained by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.