San Francisco, CA — The California Supreme Court ruled today that simply forgetting to register for California´s Megan´s Law because of stress is an insufficient excuse for sex offenders.
The court was ruling in the case of a rapist who showed up late to inform local police of his whereabouts.
Joseph Sorden was convicted of forcible rape in 1983. He had registered his address every year within five days of his birthday, as required by law.
But in 2001, Sorden showed up more than two weeks late because he says he suffered from depression and forgot.
He voluntarily showed up at the Pacifica police station on December 22nd, 2001, to register, but was arrested instead.
The state Supreme Court ruled that forgetting to register is a valid excuse only when the sex offender suffers from an “involuntary condition,” like amnesia or Alzheimer´s disease.
Sorden´s lawyer says he´ll petition the high court for a rehearing.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 2:23 pm