§542.1.4.  Failure to register and notify as a sex offender or child predator; penalties

A.(1)  A person who fails to timely register, fails to timely provide any information required by the provisions of this Chapter, fails to timely and periodically renew and update registration as required by the provisions of this Chapter, fails to timely provide proof of residence, fails to timely provide notification of change of address or other registration information, or fails to provide community notification as required by the provisions of this Chapter, and a person who knowingly provides false information as provided in R.S. 15:542(C)(3), shall, upon first conviction, be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned with hard labor for not less than two years nor more than ten years without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

(2)  Upon second or subsequent convictions, the offender shall be fined three thousand dollars and imprisoned with hard labor for not less than five years nor more than twenty years without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

(3)  An offender who fails to pay the annual registration fee in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 15:542 shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.  Upon a second or subsequent conviction for the failure to pay the annual registration fee, the offender shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Subsection.

B.(1)  Any person who certifies by affidavit the location of the residence of the offender shall send written notice to the appropriate law enforcement agency with whom the person last registered when the offender no longer resides at the residence provided in the affidavit.  This notification shall be made any time the sex offender is absent from the residence for a period of thirty days or more, or the offender vacates the residence with the intent to establish a new residence at another location.  This notification shall be sent within three days of the end of the thirty-day period or within three days of the offender vacating the residence with the requisite intent.

(2)  Any person who fails to provide the notice required by this Subsection shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, with or without hard labor, or both.

C.(1)  Any person who either fails to meet the requirements of R.S. 32:412(I) or R.S. 40:1321(J), who is in possession of any document required by R.S. 32:412(I) or R.S. 40:1321(J) that has been altered with the intent to defraud, or who is in possession of a counterfeit of any document required by R.S. 32:412(I) or R.S. 40:1321(J), shall, on a first conviction, be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned at hard labor for not less than two years nor more than ten years without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

(2)  Upon a second or subsequent conviction for a violation of the provisions of this Subsection, the offender shall be fined three thousand dollars and imprisoned at hard labor for not less than five years nor more than twenty years without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

Acts 2007, No. 460, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 147, §1; Acts 2011, No. 74, §1; Acts 2014, No. 190, §1.