West Virginia Code 15-12-5 – Distribution and disclosure of information; community information programs by prosecuting attorney and State Police; petition to circuit court
(a) Within five business days after receiving any notification as described in this article, the State Police shall distribute a copy of the notification statement to:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 15-12-5
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments, all rights thereto and interests therein, except chattel interests. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) The supervisor of each county and municipal law-enforcement office and any campus police department in the city and county where the registrant resides, owns or leases habitable real property that he or she regularly visits, is employed or attends school or a training facility;
(2) The county superintendent of schools in each county where the registrant resides, owns or leases habitable real property that he or she regularly visits, is employed or attends school or a training facility;
(3) The child protective services office charged with investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect in the county where the registrant resides, owns or leases habitable real property that he or she regularly visits, is employed or attends school or a training facility;
(4) All community organizations or religious organizations which regularly provide services to youths in the county where the registrant resides, owns or leases habitable real property that he or she regularly visits, is employed or attends school or a training facility;
(5) Individuals and organizations which provide day care services for youths or day care, residential or respite care, or other supportive services for mentally or physically incapacitated or infirm persons in the county where the registrant resides, owns or leases habitable real property that he or she regularly visits, is employed or attends school or a training facility; and
(6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
(7) The State Police detachments in the county of the offender's occupation, employment, owned or leased habitable real property and school or training.
(b) Information concerning persons whose names are contained in the sex offender registry is not subject to the requirements of the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, as set forth in chapter twenty-nine-b of this code, and may be disclosed and disseminated only as otherwise provided in this article and as follows:
(1) When a person has been determined to be a sexually violent predator under the terms of section two-a of this article, the State Police shall notify the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the person resides, owns or leases habitable real property that he or she regularly visits, is employed or attends a school or training facility. The prosecuting attorney shall cooperate with the State Police in conducting a community notification program which is to include publication of the offender's name, photograph, place of residence, location of regularly visited habitable real property owned or leased by the offender, county of employment and place at which the offender attends school or a training facility, as well as information concerning the legal rights and obligations of both the offender and the community. Information relating to the victim of an offense requiring registration may not be released to the public except to the extent the prosecuting attorney and the State Police consider it necessary to best educate the public as to the nature of sexual offenses: Provided, That no victim's name may be released in any public notification pursuant to this subsection. No information relating to telephone or electronic paging device numbers a registrant has or uses may be released to the public with this notification program. The prosecuting attorney and State Police may conduct a community notification program in the county where a person who is required to register for life under the terms of subdivision (2), subsection (a), section four of this article resides, owns or leases habitable real property that he or she regularly visits, is employed or attends a school or training facility. Community notification may be repeated when determined to be appropriate by the prosecuting attorney;
(2) The State Police shall maintain and make available to the public at least quarterly the list of all persons who are required to register for life according to the terms of subdivision (2), subsection (a), section four of this article. No information concerning the identity of a victim of an offense requiring registration or telephone or electronic paging device numbers a registrant has or uses may be released with this list. The method of publication and access to this list are to be determined by the superintendent; and
(3) A resident of a county may petition the circuit court for an order requiring the State Police to release information about persons that reside or own or lease habitable real property that the persons regularly visit in that county and who are required to register under section two of this article. The court shall determine whether information contained on the list is relevant to public safety and whether its relevance outweighs the importance of confidentiality. If the court orders information to be released, it may further order limitations upon secondary dissemination by the resident seeking the information. In no event may information concerning the identity of a victim of an offense requiring registration or information relating to telephone or electronic paging device numbers a registrant has or uses be released.
(c) The State Police may furnish information and documentation required in connection with the registration to authorized law-enforcement, campus police and governmental agencies of the United States and its territories, of foreign countries duly authorized to receive the same, of other states within the United States and of the State of West Virginia upon proper request stating that the records will be used solely for law-enforcement-related purposes. The State Police may disclose information collected under this article to federal, state and local governmental agencies responsible for conducting preemployment checks. The State Police also may disclose information collected under this article to the Division of Motor Vehicles pursuant to the provisions of section three, article two, chapter seventeen-b of this code.
(d) An elected public official, public employee or public agency is immune from civil liability for damages arising out of any action relating to the provisions of this section except when the official, employee or agency acted with gross negligence or in bad faith.