New Hampshire Sex Offender Records

What is a Sex Offender?

Any person who has received a conviction or adjudication for a sexual crime is known as a "sex offender." However, this definition differs by state, as well as the associated penalties. For instance, some states like New Hampshire regard an accomplice to a sex crime as a sex offender.

Usually, a sex offender must register with their local law enforcement agency after a court enters a guilty verdict. This enables the public to find sex offenders living, working, or schooling in their neighborhoods.

Who is Considered a Sex Offender in New Hampshire?

A sex offender in New Hampshire is anyone who commits and is required to register for a sexual offense under RSA 651-B:1, IV. Even if the person was not the actual offender, being an accomplice or attempting/soliciting to commit a sex offense makes such an individual a sex offender in New Hampshire.

What are the Different Types of Sex Offenses in New Hampshire?

Section 651-B:1, V of the New Hampshire Criminal Code highlights several offenses recognized as sex crimes by the state. People who commit these offenses are guilty of sex crimes in New Hampshire. This includes persons who commit, attempt, solicit, conspire, or are accomplices to the commission of any of the crimes listed below, where the victim was 18 years or older.

The different sex offenses in New Hampshire include:

Capital murder

Anyone above 18 years of age who knowingly causes the death of another person before, after, or during the commission or attempt to commit felonious sexual assault (as defined in RSA 632-A:2) is guilty of capital murder. A person convicted of this crime will be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

First-degree murder

According to RSA 630:1-a, a person who purposely causes the death of another person before, after, during, or while attempting to commit felonious sexual assault is guilty of this offense. It is punishable by life imprisonment with no parole.

Aggravated felonious sexual assault

In New Hampshire, a person may be convicted of aggravated felonious sexual assault if the person engages in sexual penetration with another individual under these conditions:

The offender overcomes the victim with physical force, physical violence, or superior physical strength.
The victim is incapable of physically resisting.
The offender coerces the victim to yield by threatening to use physical violence or superior physical strength, and the victim believes the offender could execute the threats.
The offender coerces the victim to submit by threatening to retaliate against the victim, a family member, or any other person, and the victim believes that the offender could execute the threat in the future.
The offender commits the crime by administering an intoxicating substance to the victim without the victim's consent or prior knowledge to incapacitate the victim mentally, or commits the crime while knowing that another person administered an intoxicating substance to mentally incapacitate the victim without the victim's consent or prior knowledge.
The offender provides therapy, medical treatment, or examination of the victim or within one year of termination of such relationship acts in an unprofessional, unethical, or unacceptable manner, or uses the position to coerce the victim to submit.
The victim has a disability that makes them incapable of freely making independent choices to engage in sexual conduct, and the offender is aware of the victim's status.
Through concealment or the element of surprise, the offender engages in sexual penetration with the victim before the victim has the opportunity to flee or resist.
The victim is between 13 and 16 years of age, and the offender belongs to the victim's household or is related to the victim by blood or affinity.
The victim is between 13 and 18 years of age, and the offender has authority over the victim and is more than four years older.
The offender is an employee, contractor, or volunteer at a primary or secondary school where the victim is a student or was a student within the past 10 months.
The victim is younger than 13 years of age.
The victim indicated by speech or conduct at the time of the assault that there was no freely-given consent to the act.
The offender holds a position of authority over the victim and uses such power to coerce the victim to submit under the following circumstances:
- The victim is detained in a correctional institution, a secure psychiatric unit, a juvenile detention facility, or any other confined space where the victim cannot leave at will. At the same time, the offender has direct supervisory, disciplinary, or other authority authorized by law over the victim.
- The offender is a probation or parole officer with direct supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim, who is on parole or probation or under juvenile probation.

A person may be found guilty of aggravated felonious sexual assault without penetration if the person intentionally touches, through clothing or otherwise, the genitalia of another person younger than 13 years of age for sexual gratification or arousal. In addition, when a person engages in a pattern of sexual assault against another individual who is not a spouse and is less than 18 years of age, such person is guilty of aggravated felonious sexual assault.

New Hampshire defines a convict of aggravated felonious sexual assault as a person who engaged in sexual penetration as described by RSA 632-A:1, V with someone younger than 18 years old and related by blood to them. Where the victim and perpetrator are related by blood or are household members, the charge will be "aggravated felonious sexual assault–domestic violence." This kind of sexual offense attracts a fine of $50 in addition to the other penalties.

Sexual assault

In New Hampshire, any form of sexual contact or sexual penetration with another person or use of authority to submit persons to engage in sexual contact with themselves in one's presence is sexual assault.

Sexual assault is a Class A misdemeanor in New Hampshire. The specific situations where the crime occurs include:

A person subjects a 13-year-old or older person to sexual contact under the conditions highlighted in RSA 632-A:2.
An individual subjects another between 13 and 16 years of age to sexual contact, and that individual is at least 5 years older.
In conditions unlike those described in RSA 632-A:2, an individual engages in sexual penetration with another between 13 and 16 years old, and the actor is older than the victim by four years or less. However, anyone guilty of such an offense is not required to register as a sexual offender.

Violation of privacy

This is described as the unlawful act of installing or using a device to record, amplify, broadcast, observe, or transmit images or sounds of another person's private body parts without the consent of such a person. Also, a person is guilty of this crime when they intentionally disseminate or cause the dissemination of a photograph or video recording showing someone engaging in sexual acts with another without the consent of the person in the picture or recording.

Indecent exposure and lewdness

RSA 645:1 defines this as "fornicating, exposing one's genitals, or intentionally performing an act of gross lewdness under circumstances in which the actor should know that the act will likely cause affront or alarm." This crime is regarded as a Class B felony if

The actor fornicates, exposes genitals, or engages in any form of gross lewdness acts for sexual gratification while knowing that a child younger than 16 years old is present.
The actor intentionally performs any act of sexual contact or sexual penetration on themselves or another person in the presence of a child below 16 years of age.
The actor transmits an image of themselves fornicating, exposing genitals, or engaging in other acts of gross lewdness to a child who is less than 16 years or whom the offender believes is less than 16 years old.

A convict of indecent exposure and lewdness who has been previously convicted of at least 2 of the offenses stated above is guilty of a Class A felony.

What Types of Sex Offenders Exist in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire categorizes sex offenders into tiers based on the seriousness of their crime, prior criminal history, and other relevant factors, such as the victim's age. These classifications are as follows:

Tier I offenders

All sex offenders with child victims are required to register under this tier. Other offenses that lead to Tier 1 sex offender classification in New Hampshire include:

Sexual assault
Violation of privacy
A second/subsequent offense within a 5-year duration for indecent exposure and lewdness.

Tier II offenders

A sex offender guilty of any of the below offenses is a Tier II offender in New Hampshire:

Intentional contribution to delinquency
Aggravated felonious sexual assault
Criminal restraints
Stalking
Trafficking in persons
Endangering the welfare of child or incompetent
Indecent exposure and lewdness
Possession of child sexual abuse images
Obscenity

Tier III offenders

A sex offender guilty of any of the following offenses is a Tier III offender in New Hampshire:

Capital murder
Sexual assault, if the victim was below the age of 13
Kidnapping
Incest

A sexually violent predator is also considered a Tier III offender in the state.

How to Find a Sex Offender Near Me in New Hampshire

Residents of New Hampshire can find a sex offender near them through the state police. An interested party can visit a local law enforcement agency to obtain sex offender information.

It is also possible to glean sex offender information from the New Hampshire Sex Offender Registry and the National Sex Offender Public Website.

However, anyone who uses such information to injure, harass or commit a crime against a sex offender will be prosecuted.

Interested members of the public may also obtain public record information from third-party websites. These privately owned sites typically host data culled from public databases and repositories. However, the information available on third-party sites may vary since they are independent of government sources. In order to use a third-party site, record seekers may be required to provide all or some of the following information:

The full name on the record of choice
The last known or current address of the named individual
The address of the requestor

What Happens When You Register as a Sex Offender in New Hampshire?

Registering as a sex offender in New Hampshire comes with several restrictions that are bound to affect a person's relationships, social life, career, and other areas. For one, such offenders will often get random visits from investigators and random inspections from the police. Other times, the local enforcement agency may order the offender to come in.

Also, upon registration as a sex offender in New Hampshire, some offenders cease to have private lives. This is because they will be mandated to register certain information (name, phone number, vehicle data, online identifiers, home address, etc.) with a local law enforcement agency. Afterward, most of these details are published on a public registry for public consumption. As such, any interested party will be able to view the offender's full name, current address, physical attributes, and more.

Since the New Hampshire Sex Offender Registry is available to all, sex offenders may have difficulty finding someone willing to employ them or finding a landlord who will not mind having them as a tenant.

What is the New Hampshire Sex Offender Registry?

The New Hampshire Sex Offender/Offender Against Children Registry is a public website that provides information on sex offenders. Managed by the New Hampshire Department of Safety, the site provides records on:

Unsettled arrest warrants for sexual offenders or others who have committed crimes against children and have failed to register as required by the Law; and
The data of registered offenders who have committed specified criminal offenses against children.

The Sex offender registry is made available to protect the public from sex offenders and the consequences of their crimes. It contains data received from various local law enforcement agencies in the state.

The Criminal Code is the principal law that regulates sex offender registration in the state of New Hampshire. It mandates every sexual offender or every offender against children to register with the Department of Safety, Division of State Police. Offenders are mandated to commence registration once released from incarceration or upon conviction if their sentence does not include imprisonment. Upon registration, the division includes the relevant information obtained during registration in the Sex Offender Registry. The information of sex offenders available on the Sex Offenders Registry include:

The offender's name and alias, if available, age, date of birth, and other physical descriptions like race, sex, height, weight, hair, and eye color.
Offenders' address, comprising the address of any permanent residence and the address of any temporary home, within or outside the state.
The crime committed, the provision of law defining the offense, and other sex offenses for which they may have been convicted.
The court that adjudicated on the crime for which the individual is registered and the date of adjudication.
Outstanding arrest warrants, criminal history of the offender, the date of all convictions, the offender's parole status, probation, or supervised release, and registration.
The offender's photograph.
The address of any institution where the offender is or will be a student.

Before September 20, 2003, local law enforcement agencies were not required to obtain photographs of registered sex offenders for posting on the Sex Offenders Registry. However, they are now required to take pictures of registered sex offenders at their annual registration or update. The registry does not include the following information:

The identity of any victim
The social security number of the offender.
Any arrests of the offender that did not result in a conviction.
The offender's employer or school name.
Information about juveniles required to register

After offenders register for the first time, they have to report in the following manner:

Tier One & Two sex offenders have to report semi-annually in person within five business days after the anniversary of their date of birth and subsequently every six months.
Tier Three sex offenders are to report every quarter and within five business days after the anniversary of their birth dates and after that, every three months.

Sex offenders who fail to fulfill the registration requirements in New Hampshire may violate parole or probation conditions and can be jailed.

Interested members of the public may also obtain public record information from third party websites. These privately owned sites typically host data culled from public databases and repositories. However, the information available on third-party sites may vary since they are independent of government sources. To use a third-party site, record seekers may be required to provide all of some of the following information:

The full name on the record of choice
The last known or current address of the named individual
The address of the requestor

What are the Sex Offender Laws in New Hampshire?

The Criminal Code is the principal law that regulates sex offender registration in the state of New Hampshire. It mandates every sexual offender or every offender against children to register with the Department of Safety, Division of State Police, and other relevant local law enforcement agencies. Upon registration, the division includes the relevant information obtained during registration in the Sex Offender Registry. Offenders are mandated to commence registration once released from incarceration or upon conviction when their sentence does not include incarceration.

How Long Do Sex Offenders Have to Register in New Hampshire?

The Law identifies three tiers of Sex offenders:

Tier One
Tier Two
Tier Three

All Tier Two and Three offenders are required to register for life while Tier One offenders shall register for ten years from the date of release, where any such registration period does not run concurrently with any registration period resulting from a subsequent offense or attempted offense for which the person is required to register.

The Law also mandates offenders to report as follows after their first registration:

Tier One and Two sex offenders have to report semi-annually in person within five business days after every anniversary of their date of birth and subsequently every six months.
Tier Three sex offenders are to report every quarter and within five business days after the anniversary of their date of birth and afterward, every three months.

Can Sex Offenders Live With Their Families in New Hampshire?

The Law does not stipulate if sex offenders can live with their families. However, people can contact the local law enforcement agencies in their communities for further information.

Do Sex Offenders Have to Notify Neighbors in New Hampshire?

Sex offenders resident, schooling, or working in New Hampshire do not have any obligation to notify their neighbors of their sex offender status. However, they are obligated to register with the Department of Safety, Division of State Police upon release from incarceration or upon conviction when their sentence does not include imprisonment. Also, upon a change in address or any other information, they are required to notify the local law enforcement agency to which they last reported, within five business days of such change of information. When sex offenders register with the local law enforcement agencies in the community where they reside, school, or work, or where they notify such local enforcement agencies of a change of address or any other change to their registration details, the local law enforcement agency may inform the superintendent of the school administrative unit and the principal of any institution or school within the jurisdiction of the sex offender's registration details or such changes in the sex offender's registration details.

Tier One and Two sex offenders are required to report semi-annually in person within five business days after every anniversary of their date of birth and subsequently, every six months, while Tier Three sex offenders are to report every quarter and within five business days after the anniversary of their date of birth and afterward, every three months. In addition to reporting, sex offenders are also mandated to be available for compliance checks, random inspections, and drop-ins by investigators. Sex offenders who fail to fulfill the registration requirements in New Hampshire violate parole or probation conditions and can be jailed.

How Close Can a Sex Offender Live to a School in New Hampshire?

The Law does not stipulate the distance within which a sex offender can live, close to a school. However, when sex offenders register with the local law enforcement agencies in the community where they reside, school, or work, or where they notify such local enforcement agencies of a change of address or any other change to their registration details, the local law enforcement agency may notify the superintendent of the school administrative unit and the principal of any school within its jurisdiction of the sex offender's registration details or such changes in the sex offender's registration details.

Can You Expunge a Sex Offender Charge in New Hampshire?

The Law of the state of New Hampshire provides instances where it can delist the names of sex offenders from the sex offenders' registry. Firstly, the Law permits Tier One offenders to file a petition to the court to have their names and other information removed from the public sex offender registry after the completion of all the terms and conditions of their sentence and in no case earlier than five years after the date of their release from custody. Sex offenders are required to accompany their application with a risk assessment prepared by a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist. The court may grant offenders' petition if offenders:

Have completed any supervised release, probation, or parole periods, and have completed sex offender treatment programs as determined by the court.
Have not been found guilty of any class A misdemeanor, sexual crime, felony, or offense against a child

The court shall, before granting a petition to remove a sex offender from the public sex offender registry, do the following:

Notify the county attorney who prosecuted the case, the victim's attorney, and the victim or victim's family;
Permit the parties as mentioned above to be heard on the petition;
Grant the victim the opportunity to address the court. Victims may address the court orally in person, or through a legal representative, or by a written statement to reasonably express their opinions concerning the offense, the offender, and the need for maintaining the registration requirement.

The judge may grant offenders’ applications if, in its opinion, removal from the registration requirements will not only assist sex offenders in their rehabilitation but will also be consistent with the welfare of the public.

Secondly, the registration of any juvenile required to register as a sex offender under the Law ends whenever the juvenile turns seventeen years unless the court that adjudicated the juvenile's case as a delinquent still maintains jurisdiction over the juvenile pursuant under the Law. In such a case, the registration of the juvenile ends whenever the court terminates jurisdiction over the juvenile's case. When a juvenile's obligation to register ends, the department shall remove information relating to the juvenile from the system of the Sex Offender Registry. Public authorities shall handle the records of the juvenile's registration as provided under the relevant sections of the Law. It shall be an offense for anyone to disclose such court records or any part thereof to persons other than those authorized to access it under the Law, except by court order.

How to Look Up Sex Offenders in New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Department of Safety maintains a Sex Offender/Offender Against Children Registry where requesters can look up information about sex offenders and offenders against children. The website does not contain the complete criminal history of the listed offenders. Anyone who has further questions about sex offenders in the state can call (603) 223-3870 or visit the New Hampshire State Police Sexual Offender Registration department at:

33 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03305

The US Department of Justice provides a website as part of its public service where interested users can have access to the location of sexual offenders in all the fifty states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, U.S. Territories, and the Indian Country. Users can look up such convicted Sex offenders by:

Reading and reviewing the department's information collection and privacy, and confidentiality policy. By using the website, people consent to and agree to abide and be subject to the guidelines.
Accepting and agreeing with the conditions by clicking on the "Continue" icon
Inputting the required search parameters, which can either be the name, zip code or address radius.

The sex offender registration information displayed on the website is obtained from the jurisdiction where a sex offender is registered. Thus anyone with further questions on sex offenders living in New Hampshire is encouraged to contact the local law enforcement agencies in the state.

Is Public Urination a Sex Offense in New Hampshire?

Public urination is a crime in the state of New Hampshire. New Hampshire state law specifies that any person who urinates in a public place, which is not a public restroom, under circumstances where the person knew or should have known would likely cause affront or alarm to others and is guilty of a violation. Again, it is an offense for people to expose their genitals in public under the circumstances they know or should have known would likely cause affront or alarm people. People convicted for a second or subsequent offense of indecent exposure and lewdness within five years are mandated to register as sex offenders.

How to Report a Sex Offender in New Hampshire?

People are encouraged to report suspicious activities, including sex crimes, by calling (603) 223-3860 or clicking on the "Report Suspicious Activities" button on the New Hampshire Department of Safety website. Clicking on the "Report Suspicious Activities" button redirects people to a page where they are required to fill in the relevant fields and click on the submit button. Anyone can make anonymous reports as it is not mandatory to provide name and contact information while filling out the form on the page. Reports filed on the page are reviewed every weekday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. However, people who feel they require urgent attention are advised to call 911.