People v. Warren.

2024 COA 60. No. 22CA1997. Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act—Lifetime Mandatory Sex Offender Registration—Petition for Removal From Registry—Severe Physical or Intellectual Disability.

May 30, 2024

In 1997, Warren pleaded guilty to first degree sexual assault and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Under the Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act (the Act), he was therefore subject to mandatory lifetime sex offender registration. After Warren completed his sentence, he was released and now resides in an assisted living facility. Since his release, Warren has been required to register as a sex offender. In 2021, Warren filed a petition to discontinue his sex offender registration under CRS § 16-22-113(2.5)(a), attaching mental health records outlining his intellectual disabilities. The prosecution objected to the petition. The district court accepted that Warren was eligible to petition to discontinue registration under subsection (2.5)(a) and that he had a severe intellectual disability, but it concluded that Warren failed to provide evidence that he does not pose an unreasonable risk to public safety. The district court denied Warren’s petition without a hearing.

On appeal, Warren argued that the district court erred by denying his petition to discontinue sex offender registration without a hearing. The People agreed that if subsection (2.5)(a) applies in this case, the court erred by denying the petition without a hearing, but the People maintained that subsection (2.5)(a) does not apply to individuals who are subject to lifetime sex offender registration under subsection (3). Based on the plain language of subsection (2.5)(a), the court of appeals determined that sex offenders who are subject to the lifetime registration requirement under CRS § 16-22-113(3) may petition to discontinue registration under § 16-22-113(2.5)(a). The district court thus erred by denying Warren’s petition without a hearing.

The order was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings.