Doe v. Sex Offender Registry Board (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-030-15)
JOHN DOE, SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY BOARD NO. 291554 vs. SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY BOARD. No. 13-P-1703. APPEALS COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS November 13, 2014, Argued March 27, 2015, Decided PRIOR-HISTORY: Suffolk. Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on April 13, 2011. The case was heard by Frances A. McIntyre , J., on a motion for judgment on the pleadings. HEADNOTES-1 Sex Offender. Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act. Evidence, Sex offender, Expert opinion. Witness, Expert. COUNSEL: Xiomara M. Hernández for the plaintiff. Thomas M. Doyle for the defendant. JUDGES: Present: Green, Wolohojian, & Blake, JJ. WOLOHOJIAN, J., dissenting. OPINION BY: BLAKE OPINION Blake, J. The plaintiff, John Doe, challenges his final classification by the Sex Offender Registry Board (board) as a level three sex offender. He claims that the board’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence, primarily because the governing offense involved no physical contact or sexual component and, apart from that offense, Doe had no prior criminal record. We affirm. Background. We summarize the facts found by the hearing examiner,1 supplemented by additional undisputed facts from the record. In October of 2009, Doe responded to a post on a social networking Web site from the twelve year old female victim seeking assistance running away from home. He initiated a series of online communications with her over a period of thirty or so days. In his electronic mail messages (e-mails) to the victim, Doe misrepresented his age as being twenty-five, rather than his actual age of thirty-two. Eventually, Doe arranged to travel from his home State of Virginia to Massachusetts, on a date certain, to pick up the victim, intending to return to Virginia with her by train, subway, and bus. To that end, he purchased one bus ticket in his name and one in that of the victim. He also instructed the victim to bring some money and her Social Security card. FOOTNOTES 1 An evidentiary hearing was held on February 7, 2011. On the morning of the planned meeting, the victim’s mother noticed that the victim was acting suspiciously. The mother’s boyfriend then searched the victim’s computer and discovered her communications with Doe. The police were notified, and after interviewing the victim, they arrested Doe at the train station, shortly before the prearranged meeting. Upon questioning, Doe told the police that he knew the victim was twelve years old; that he planned “to kiss her, lick her, and suck on” her when they returned to Virginia; that he would take photographs of her and post them on a Web site; that he intended to get her to love him; and that he would marry her and have babies with her. Doe was charged and found guilty of enticement of a child under the age of sixteen (enticement) and attempted kidnapping of a child. He was sentenced to two […]