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Court rules misdemeanor sexual indecency merits sex offender registration Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A Saline County man's name should go on Arkansas' sex offender registry even though his crime, misdemeanor public sexual indecency, is not listed in the definitions chapter of the state sex offender registration statute, the state Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The appeals court rejected Ronald Fountain's argument that the circuit judge who heard his case exceeded his authority in ordering Fountain to register as a sex offender. Fountain's attorney, Francis Parker Jones III of Benton, said he would ask the state Supreme Court to review Wednesday's decision. Saying the case was precedent setting, Jones said the legal question "needs to be dealt with because a lot of courts all over the state are making decisions about whether people should register and that's a national issue." Last year, Fountain pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge in Saline County Circuit Court. He was sentenced Sept. 12 to 12 months in jail and Circuit Judge Grisham Phillips also ordered Fountain to register as a sex offender. In his appeal, Fountain argued that the circuit judge did not have the authority to order him to register because misdemeanor public sexual indecency had been in the state criminal code since 1975 and the Legislature did not include the offense in the definitions section when it adopted the Sex Offender Registration statute in 1997. "If the Legislature had wanted make (public sexual indecency) a sex offense, they certainly could have listed it along with everything they did list," Jones, his attorney, said Wednesday. "This pretty much gives carte blanche to the trial court to say anything is a sexual offense." However, in its ruling Wednesday, the appeals court noted Arkansas Code 12-12-901 specifies the definition of sex offense "is not limited to" offenses listed in the statute. Also, misdemeanor public sexual indecency is listed in Act 1389 of 2003, which updated sex offenses for background checks for teacher license applicants, the court said. The law "clearly states that our sex-offender registration requirements apply to persons 'adjudicated guilty on or after Aug. 1, 1997, of a sex offense,' and, although not included among the sexual offenses enumerated (in the section), the crime of public sexual indecency is classified as a sexual offense" in the 2003 law, Judge Sam Bird wrote. Jones said Wednesday all of the state's trial courts should be on the same page on the issue. "That's what the Supreme Court is supposed to do, make sure that the administration of justice is equal all over the state." |
