Iowa Code § 692A.121 - Availability of records

1. The department shall maintain an internet site for the public and others to access relevant information about sex offenders. The internet site, at a minimum, shall be searchable by name, county, city, zip code, and geographic radius. 2. The department shall provide updated or corrected relevant information within five business days of the information being updated or corrected, from the sex offender registry to the following: a. A criminal or juvenile justice agency, an agency of the state, a sex offender registry of another jurisdiction, or the federal government. b. The general public through the sex offender registry internet site. (1) The following relevant information about a sex offender shall be disclosed on the internet site: (a) The date of birth. (b) The name, nickname, aliases, including ethnic or tribal names. (c) Photographs. (d) The physical description, including scars, marks, or tattoos. (e) The residence. (f) The statutory citation and text of the offense committed that requires registration under this chapter. (g) A specific reference indicating whether a particular sex offender is subject to residency restrictions pursuant to section 692A.114. (h) A specific reference indicating whether a particular sex offender is subject to exclusion zone restrictions pursuant to section 692A.113. (2) The following relevant information shall not be disclosed on the internet site: (a) The relevant information about a sex offender who was under twenty years of age at the time the offender committed a violation of section 709.4, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (2), subparagraph division (d). (b) The employer name, address, or location where a sex offender acts as an employee in any form of employment. (c) The address and name of any school where a student required to be on the registry attends. (d) The real name of a sex offender protected under 18 U.S.C. §3521. (e) The statutory citation and text of the offense committed for an incest conviction in violation of section 726.2, however, the citation and text of an incest conviction shall be disclosed on the internet site as a conviction of section 709.4 or 709.8. (f) Any other relevant information not described in subparagraph (1). c. The general public through any other means, at the discretion of the department, any relevant information that is available on the internet site. 3. A criminal or juvenile justice agency may provide relevant information from the sex offender registry to the following: a. A criminal or juvenile justice agency, an agency of the state, or a sex offender registry of another jurisdiction, or the federal government. b. The general public, any information available to the general public in subsection 2, including public and private agencies, organizations, public places, child care facilities, religious and youth organizations, neighbors, neighborhood associations, community meetings, and employers. The relevant information available to the general public may be distributed to the public through printed materials, visual or audio press releases, radio communications, or through a criminal or juvenile justice agency’s internet site. 4. When a sex offender moves into a school district or moves within a school district, the county sheriff of the county of the offender’s new residence shall provide relevant information that is available to the general public in subsection 2 to the administrative office of the school district in which the person required to register resides, and shall also provide relevant information to any nonpublic school near the offender’s residence. 5. a. A member of the public may contact a county sheriff’s office to request relevant information from the registry regarding a specific sex offender. A person making a request for relevant information may make the request by telephone, in writing, or in person, and the request shall include the name of the person and at least one of the following identifiers pertaining to the sex offender about whom the information is sought: (1) The date of birth of the person. (2) The social security number of the person. (3) The address of the person. (4) Internet identifiers. (5) Telephone numbers, including any landline or wireless numbers. b. The relevant information made available to the general public pursuant to this subsection shall include all the relevant information provided to the general public on the internet site pursuant to subsection 2, and the following additional relevant information: (1) Educational institutions attended as a student, including the name and address of such institution. (2) Employment information including the name and address of employer. (3) Temporary lodging information, including the dates when residing at the temporary lodging. (4) Vehicle information. c. A county sheriff or police department shall not charge a fee relating to a request for relevant information. 6. A county sheriff shall also provide to a person upon request access to a list of all registrants in that county. 7. The following relevant information shall not be provided to the general public: a. The identity of the victim. b. Arrests not resulting in a conviction. c. Passport and immigration documents. d. A government issued driver’s license or identification card. e. DNA information. f. Fingerprints. g. Palm prints. h. Professional licensing information. i. Social security number. j. Real name protected under 18 U.S.C. §3521. 8. Notwithstanding sections 232.147 through 232.151, records concerning convictions which are committed by a minor may be released in the same manner as records of convictions of adults. 9. A person may contact the department or a county sheriff’s office to verify if a particular internet identifier or telephone number is one that has been included in a registration by a sex offender. 10. The department shall include links to sex offender safety information, educational resources pertaining to the prevention of sexual assaults, and the national sex offender registry. 11. The department shall include on the sex offender registry internet site instructions and any applicable forms necessary for a person seeking correction of information that the person contends is erroneous. 12. When the department receives and approves registration data, such data shall be made available on the sex offender registry internet site within five business days. 13. The department shall maintain an automated electronic mail notification system, which shall be available by free subscription to any person, to provide notice of addition, deletion, or changes to any sex offender registration, relevant information within a postal zip code or, if selected by a subscriber, a geographic radius or, if selected by a subscriber, specific to a sex offender. 14. Sex offender registry records are confidential records not subject to examination and copying by a member of the public and shall only be released as provided in this section. 2009 Acts, ch 119, §21; 2013 Acts, ch 30, §247 Referred to in §22.7(48), 256.146, 279.13, 279.69, 282.9, 321.375, 692A.118