Any person who has been found guilty of sex crimes is entered in the sex offender registry. Thus, even after serving their term, sex offenders have to live with a sex criminal stigma for their whole life.
Texas laws are pretty strict and a teenager in Texas can be charged with a sex offense if he or she has a sexual intercourse with another adolescent. However, 2 years ago Texas legislators have passed the law that allows convicted teen sex offenders to remove themselves from the sex offender registry in the state of Texas after they meet necessary law requirements.
Often called as Romeo and Juliet laws, the 2011 Texas law allows teen sex offender to deregister from the Texas sex offender registry if they meet the following requirements:
1. The conviction occurred entirely because of the ages of people involving in a sexual activity.
2. The age difference between an offender and an avowed victim is no larger than 4 years and an avowed victim is no younger than 15 years old when the sexual intercourse took place.
Thus, for instance an 18-year-old can submit the petition to the court asking to remove him or her from the sex offender registry if an avowed victim was 15 years old at the time of the sexual intercourse.
However, it is important to remember that such the law can only be used to remove a convicted teen sex offender from the sex registry, and it cannot be used as the basis for charges’ dismissal in the court.
Currently, in Texas it is against the law to have sex with an individual younger than 17 years old no matter whether an avowed victim gave his or her consent to having sex.