2009AP1210-CR State v. Parmley

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Sentencing
Sex offender registration

In calculating whether a defendant is more than four years older than the victim, and thus required to register as a sex offender, the age difference is calculated by time, not age.

"The legislative intent in carving out this narrow exception to the sex offender registration program supports this commonsense approach of calculating who is 'not more than 4 years older' than the victim. '[T]he legislature's purpose was to craft a narrow exception to mandatory registration for sex offenders in cases of factually consensual sexual contact between two minors who, but for the age of the younger child, would have broken no law.' Joseph E.G., 240 Wis. 2d 481, ¶11. If we were to adopt Parmley's view, there could be almost a five-year gap between an actor and a victim. Assuming an act of sexual intercourse happened on December 31, 1998, and the actor had a birthday of January 1, 1980, and the victim's birthday was December 27, 1984, under Parmley's method of calculation, the actor would have been eighteen years old and the victim fourteen years old and he would be exempt from sex offender registration because he is not more than four years older than the victim. However, under the method of calculation we adopt in this opinion, Parmley would have to register as a sex offender because the actual difference between their ages is four years and 360 days-making Parmley almost one additional full year older physically, emotionally and sexually."

Reversed.

Recommended for publication in the official reports.

2009AP1210-CR State v. Parmley

Dist. I, Sheboygan County, Bolgert, J., Anderson, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: St. John, Rebecca Rapp, Madison; Urmanski, Joel, Sheboygan; For Respondent: Eippert, Christopher M., Sheboygan

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