wtaq.com (WI): Appeals Court Changes Rules for Young Adults as Sex Offenders.
Madison, Wisconsin - A state appeals court changed the rules Wednesday for exempting young adults from registering as convicted sex offenders, if they’re caught having consensual sex with minors.
The law says offenders do not have to register if they’re less than 4 years older than their victims. But the 2nd District Appeals Court in Waukesha said the four-year calculation should be based on the actual birthdays of the 2 parties – and not their calendar year ages.
It means that Matthew Parmley of Sheboygan must register with the state as a sex offender – because he was 4 years and 4 months older than the girl he was convicted of having sex with in 2004. Parmley had asked that be exempt from registering – and while a circuit judge agreed with him, the appellate court did not.
Appeals Judge Daniel Anderson said the old formula allowed for a nearly 5-year age difference in some cases, and that was not the intent of the law. There was no immediate word on whether Parmley would appeal to the State Supreme Court.
