(A) Any person, regardless of age, residing in the State of South Carolina who in this State has been convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to an offense described below, or who has been convicted, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity in any comparable court in the United States, or a foreign country, or who has been convicted, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity in the United States federal courts of a similar offense, or who has been convicted of, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity to an offense for which the person was required to register in the state where the conviction or plea occurred, shall be required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article. A person who has been found not guilty by reason of insanity shall not be required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article unless and until the person is declared to no longer be insane or is ordered to register by the trial judge. A person who has been convicted, pled guilty or nolo contendere, or found not guilty by reason of insanity in any court in a foreign country may raise as a defense to a prosecution for failure to register that the offense in the foreign country was not equivalent to any offense in this State for which he would be required to register and may raise as a defense that the conviction, plea, or finding in the foreign country was based on a proceeding or trial in which the person was not afforded the due process of law as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and this State.

(B) For purposes of this article, a person who remains in this State for a total of thirty days during a twelve-month period is a resident of this State.

(C)(1) For purposes of this article, a person who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any of the following offenses shall be referred to as a Tier I offender:

(a) criminal sexual conduct in the third degree (§ 16-3-654);

(b) kidnapping (§ 16-3-910) of a person eighteen years of age or older except when the court makes a finding on the record that the offense did not include a criminal sexual offense or an attempted criminal sexual offense;

(c) incest (§ 16-15-20);

(d) buggery (§ 16-15-120);

(e) peeping, voyeurism, or aggravated voyeurism (§ 16-17-470);

(f) a person, regardless of age, who has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere in this State, or who has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere in a comparable court in the United States, or who has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere in the United States federal courts of indecent exposure or of a similar offense in other jurisdictions is required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article if the court makes a specific finding on the record that, based on the circumstances of the case, the convicted person should register as a sex offender;

(g) sexual intercourse with a patient or trainee (§ 44-23-1150);

(h) administering, distributing, dispensing, delivering, or aiding, abetting, attempting, or conspiring to administer, distribute, dispense, or deliver a controlled substance or gamma hydroxy butyrate to an individual with the intent to commit a crime listed in § 44-53-370(f), except petit larceny or grand larceny;

(i) any other offense as described in § 23-3-430(D), or

(j) any other offense required by Title I of the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-248), the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

(2) For purposes of this article, a person who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any of the following offenses shall be referred to as a Tier II offender:

(a) criminal sexual conduct in the second degree (§ 16-3-653);

(b) engaging a child for sexual performance (§ 16-3-810);

(c) producing, directing, or promoting sexual performance by a child (§ 16-3-820);

(d) trafficking in persons (§ 16-3-2020) except when the court makes a finding on the record that the offense did not include a criminal sexual offense or an attempted criminal sexual offense;

(e) criminal sexual conduct with minors, second degree (§ 16-3-655(B)). If evidence is presented at the criminal proceeding, or in any court of competent jurisdiction, and the court makes a specific finding on the record that the conviction obtained for this offense resulted from consensual sexual conduct, as contained in § 16-3-655(B)(2), provided the offender is eighteen years of age or less, or consensual sexual conduct between persons under sixteen years of age, the convicted person is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article;

(f) criminal sexual conduct with minors, third degree (§ 16-3-655(C)). If evidence is presented at the criminal proceeding, or in any court of competent jurisdiction, and the court makes a specific finding on the record that the conviction obtained for this offense resulted from consensual sexual conduct, as contained in § 16-3-655(B)(2), provided the offender is eighteen years of age or less, or consensual sexual conduct between persons under sixteen years of age, the convicted person is not an offender and is not required to register pursuant to the provisions of this article;

(g) criminal solicitation of a minor if the purpose or intent of the solicitation or attempted solicitation was to:

(i) persuade, induce, entice, or coerce the person solicited to engage or participate in sexual activity as defined in § 16-15-375(5);

(ii) perform a sexual activity in the presence of the person solicited (§ 16-15-342); or

(h) violations of Article 3, Chapter 15 of Title 16 involving a minor.

(3) For purposes of this article, a person who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any of the following offenses shall be referred to as a Tier III offender:

(a) criminal sexual conduct in the first degree (§ 16-3-652);

(b) criminal sexual conduct with minors, first degree (§ 16-3-655(A));

(c) criminal sexual conduct: assaults with intent to commit (§ 16-3-656);

(d) kidnapping (§ 16-3-910) of a person under eighteen years of age except when the offense is committed by a parent;

(e) criminal sexual conduct when the victim is a spouse (§ 16-3-658);

(f) sexual battery of a spouse (§ 16-3-615); or

(g) any offense listed or described in this section committed after the offender becomes a Tier I or Tier II offender.

(D) Upon conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere of a person of an offense not listed in this article, the presiding judge may order as a condition of sentencing that the person be included in the sex offender registry if good cause is shown by the prosecution.

(E) SLED shall remove a person’s name and any other information concerning that person from the sex offender registry immediately upon notification by the Attorney General that the person’s adjudication, conviction, guilty plea, or plea of nolo contendere for an offense listed in subsection (C) was reversed, overturned, or vacated on appeal and a final judgment has been rendered.

(F) If an offender receives a pardon for the offense for which he was required to register, the offender must reregister as provided by § 23-3-460 and may not be removed from the registry except:

(1) as provided by the provisions of subsection (E); or

(2) if the pardon is based on a finding of not guilty specifically stated in the pardon.

(G) If an offender files a petition for a writ of habeas corpus or a motion for a new trial pursuant to Rule 29(b), South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure, based on newly discovered evidence, the offender must reregister as provided by § 23-3-460 and may not be removed from the registry except:

(1) as provided by the provisions of subsection (E); or

(2)(a) if the circuit court grants the offender’s petition or motion and orders a new trial; and

(b) a verdict of acquittal is returned at the new trial or entered with the state’s consent.