The Colorado Court of Appeals issued its opinion in People v. Brooks on March 29, 2012.
Indecent With a Child by Exposure—Failing to Register as a Sex Offender—Out of State.
Defendant Lorenzo Brooks appealed the judgment of conviction following a bench trial in which the court found him guilty of failure to register as a sex offender. The judgment was reversed.
In 1994, defendant pleaded guilty in Harris County, Texas, to indecency with a child by exposure. After sentencing in the Texas case, defendant was transferred to El Paso County, Colorado, where he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to nineteen years in the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC). When defendant was paroled in Colorado, he was advised that he must register as a sex offender under the Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act. Defendant subsequently was charged with two felony counts of failing to register as a sex offender after it was determined that he no longer resided at the registered address.
Defendant contended that he was not required to register as a sex offender and, therefore, he could not be convicted of failing to register. Defendant was convicted in Texas of indecency with a child by exposure. The crime of indecent exposure in Colorado requires that the crime be “under circumstances in which such conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm to another person.” Because the crime of indecent exposure contains this element, and the Texas statute for indecency with a child lacks this element, defendant was not subject to registration in Colorado. The judgment of conviction was reversed.
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