Megan’s Law registrants must remain offense-free for 15 years following their conviction for the offense underlying their registration requirement. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently gave some important guidance concerning what qualifies as a conviction for Megan’s Law purposes.
When he was fifteen years old in 1999, J.A. was adjudicated delinquent of aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, and was then required to register pursuant to Megan’s Law. In 2000 and 2001, J.A., while still a juvenile, J..A. was adjudicated delinquent of receiving stolen property and second-degree robbery, respectively. He served four years at a juvenile facility for the robbery charge, was released in 2004, and remained offense-free thereafter. Fifteen years later, he applied to terminate his Megan’s Law registration obligation, but was denied because the trial court found that he did not remain offense-free after his original juvenile adjudication, which the trial court viewed as a conviction. The Appellate Division affirmed.
Everyone agreed that J.A. was not a danger to the community, and therefore satisfied the second prong of the Megan’s Law removal test. The issue was whether or not the original juvenile adjudication that led to registration was a “conviction” for Megan’s Law purposes, and the Supreme Court found that it was not. Thus, because J.A. was not “convicted” of an offense in 1999, his subsequent juvenile adjudications could not bar removal.