my first question is where were you supposed to register? In Russia? Are you serious? I do not know about the probation - what does Florida law say about failure to register?

I am apparently supposed to register my trip to where I register at. But this is the first time this has happened, I dont know what to expect.

oh you mean you were supposed to tell the sheriff office that you were going out of town? When you went before any nothing happens that is what i would use as precedent to the judge that you had no reason to think this was any different. Also, I would look at the ordinance covering sex offenders and see if it says about that. I might be mistaken but I was told recently that once you are off paper except for the law that actually says you have to register as a SO most of the Florida laws do not govern you once your sentence is served. But I would definitely look at the ordinance and the Florida law to see where it says you have to notify the sheriff about travel once you are off paper - make sure you know what the rule actually says.

Sparkyman,

I can't answer your question about the probation. Odds are no it won't be SO probation but the judge does have the ability to add SO conditions to non-sex offense probation should he or she decide to. In your case the justification would be that you are an RSO and unfortunately that's enough.

I would not bring up having traveled out of the State before because the State may try to bring up more charges for each time.

From what you have said the key issue here is did you have the specific intent to not notify the local sheriff of your travel plans. Were you ever informed you had to update your registration when traveling? While ignorance of the law is not an excuse it can be used to establish that you did not have the requisite mens rea for this alleged crime. In other words the State has to demonstrate that you woke one morning, decided to travel to Russia, knew that you had to inform local authorities but willfully decided not to.

The willful part has been important in these kinds of cases in Florida. I can't think of a specific case off the top of my head but there is supporting case law so be sure to hammer your attorney about this. I'm digging through my stuff now to find you a Florida appellate decision that matches your circumstances.

http://tinyurl.com/pdsbbe2 State v. Giorgetti, 868 So. 2d 512 - Fla: Supreme Court 2004 - This is the case that established that the State has to prove you were aware of the registration requirement and knowingly failed to register.

In the upper left corner of that page is a link, "How cited" Clicking that will take you to page full of other appellate cases citing Giorgetti as an authority.

With a little work you case should be dropped completely or at the very least a better deal than probation and a new conviction.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im in tears, this helps so much aladdin, THANK YOU THANK YOU