Homeless sex offenders do not have to supply the state with an address upon their release from prison, a state appeals court ruled Thursday.
The 4th District Court of Appeals ruled William Dinkins, Sr., did not have to provide the state with an address when he was released from prison because he did not have one.
Dinkins was convicted of first degree sexual assault of a child in 1999 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
When he was released in 2008, he said he could not comply with a state law that requires sex offenders to provide the state Department of Justice with a residence 10 days prior to their release because he had no place to live outside of prison, according to the ruling.
Since Dinkins was released on the expiration date of his sentence, he was not under supervision but he did have to register as a sex offender, according to the ruling.
The state sex offender registry requires sex offenders to register their residences with the state.
The state argued Dinkins could have provided the nearest address of where he planned to sleep, such as a park bench, but the appeals court ruled a park bench is not an address.
“Contrary to the state’s position, the term ‘residing’ in the address reporting requirement plainly does not encompass a park bench – or a heating grate, bush, highway underpass, or other similar on-the-street location, for that matter,” Judge Andrew P. Bissonnette said in the ruling.
The state DOJ argued in a brief that allowing Dinkins off the hook would encourage other sex offenders to claim they did not have a permanent residence upon their release to avoid registering with the state.
However, the court maintained only a small amount of sex offenders would be subject to the ruling and the majority would still need to supply the state with an address when they registered with the state.
While law enforcement has access to all information in the sex offender registry, victims, neighborhood watch groups and the general public have limited access, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
