In this article:
(1)
Loiter
means:
(a)
To
enter and remain in a prohibited area, whether or not the person is
in a vehicle, for a time period of greater than five minutes;
(b)
To
repeatedly enter a prohibited area, whether or not the person is in
a vehicle, more than two (2) times in twenty-four hours; or
(c)
To
remain in a prohibited area after being asked to leave by a person
in authority.
(2)
Minor, child, or children
means a person or
persons younger than seventeen (17) years of age.
(3)
Permanent residence
means a place where a person
abides, lodges, or resides for fourteen (14) or more consecutive days.
(4)
Person in authority
means the owner, a person
authorized by the owner, or a person with apparent authority to act
for the owner. With respect to public property and for the purposes
of this article, a police officer is considered to be authorized by
the owner to demand a sex offender to leave a prohibited area.
(5)
Prohibited area
means a public park, a public
or private school, a public or private sporting facility substantially
catering to minors, a public or private playground, an amusement arcade
for children, a day-care center for children, or any other similar
place where, due to the activity provided at that place, children
are intended to gather.
(7)
School
means any public or private school that
has a curriculum for kindergarten, elementary, secondary, or high
school education and that exists apart from a child’s home.
(8)
Sex offender
means a person who is required
to register under article 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
involving a reportable conviction or adjudication as defined in article
62.001(5), Tex. Code Crim. Pro., in which a victim of the reportable
conviction or adjudication was a minor.
(9)
Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Database or
the “Database”
means any public
access website officially posted by the state department of public
safety, as required by law, and intended as notification to the public
of the presence of registered sex offenders, currently addressed as http://records.txdps.state.tx.us/soSearch.
(10)
Temporary residence
means place where a person
abides, lodges, or resides for a period of 14 or more days in the
aggregate during any calendar year and which is not the person’s
permanent residence, or a place where a person routinely abides, resides,
or lodges for a period of four or more consecutive or nonconsecutive
days in any month and which is not the person’s permanent residence.
(Ordinance 6190, sec. 1, adopted 1/22/08; Ordinance 6222, sec. 1, adopted 4/15/08; Ordinance 7117, sec. 3, adopted 1/7/20)
(A)
It shall
be unlawful for a sex offender to loiter within a prohibited area
or within 500 feet of any prohibited area at any time that a minor
is present within the prohibited area.
(B)
It is
an affirmative defense to prosecution if the sex offender:
(1)
Already
has and maintains a permanent residence within 500 feet of the prohibited
area or is incarcerated within 500 feet of a prohibited area while
the sex offender is on the premises of that permanent residence on
the premises of the place of incarceration;
(2)
Is
a parent or guardian of a child who is, at the time of the violation,
in the prohibited area with that parent or guardian and a court of
competent jurisdiction has not issued an order restricting the sex
offender’s access to or presence near the child;
(3)
Is
enrolled in the school that constitutes the prohibited area;
(4)
Had
prior written permission to be in the prohibited area from a person
in authority;
(5)
Is
in active transit in a motor vehicle on a public street that was a
direct route between two locations at which the person had legitimate
business;
(6)
Was
a minor when he or she committed the offense requiring registration
as a sex offender and was not convicted as an adult;
(7)
The
person required to register on the database is a minor; or
(8)
The
information on the database is incorrect, and, if corrected, this
section would not apply to the person who was erroneously listed on
the database.
(C)
Presumptions;
measurements.
(1)
It
shall be prima facie evidence that this section applies to a person
if that person’s records appear on the database and the database
indicates that the victim was a minor.
(2)
For
the purposes of determining the minimum distance separations required
under this section, measurements shall be taken by following a straight
line from the outer property line of the prohibited area.
(Ordinance 6190, sec. 1, adopted 1/22/08)
On receipt of a written petition from a sex offender who is
adversely affected by this article, the Chief of Police may grant
an exception to the application of this article as to that person
if the Chief of Police determines that:
(1)
The
strict application of this article will work an unreasonable hardship
on the person requesting relief;
(2)
The
hardship is not solely economic in nature;
(3)
The
person making the petition has complied with all of the terms of any
order of probation or parole; and
(4)
There
is reasonable cause to believe that granting the requested belief
will not adversely affect the health, safety or welfare of the community.
(Ordinance 6190, sec. 1, adopted 1/22/08)
Nothing contained in this article is intended to affect the
terms of any order of parole, probation or similar terms of supervised
or community release. If the provisions of this article conflict with
the terms of an order of parole, probation or similar terms of supervised
or community release, the provisions that are more strict shall control.
(Ordinance 6190, sec. 1, adopted 1/22/08)
(A)
In this section the term dwelling has the meaning provided by Section 6.03 of the Garland Development Code.
(B)
A sex
offender commits an offense if the person resides, either temporarily
or permanently, in the same dwelling with another sex offender.
(C)
The
owner, operator, or person in control of a dwelling commits an offense
if he or she, either personally or through an employee or agent, knowingly
allows or with criminal negligence suffers a sex offender to reside,
either temporarily or permanently, in the dwelling with another sex
offender.
(D)
(1)
All
sex offenders residing in the dwelling were related to each other
by one or any combination of the following:
(2)
The
violation for which the sex offender was required to register was
the only sex crime on the sex offender’s record and, at the
time of that violation, the victim in the case was:
(3)
The
dwelling was or is lawfully established and lawfully operating as:
(b)
An institute for special education that holds a valid certificate
of occupancy specifically for that use and that operates a program
approved by the State for the housing, rehabilitation, and training
of criminal offenders.
(Ordinance 6894 adopted 2/21/17)
(A)
No person
who is required to register on the database because of a violation
involving a victim who was a minor at the time of the offense may
establish a permanent residence or a temporary residence located within
1,000 feet of any public park, a public or private school as so classified
in the Garland Development Code, or a private playground, a private
sporting facility, or a private park located within a regional mall.
(B)
The
owner, operator, or person in control of a dwelling commits an offense
if he or she, either personally or through an employee or agent, knowingly
or recklessly rents or leases to a person who is required to register
on the database because of a violation involving a victim who was
a minor at the time of the offense a permanent or temporary residence
located within 1,000 feet of any public park, a public or private
school as so classified in the Garland Development Code, or a private
playground, a private sporting facility, or a private park located
within a regional mall.
(C)
It shall be prima facie evidence that this section applies to a person described in subsection (A) if that person’s record appears on the database and the database indicates that the victim was a minor at the time of the offense.
(D)
For
the purposes of determining the minimum distance separation, the requirement
shall be measured by following a straight line from the outer property
line of the permanent or temporary residence to the nearest property
line of the prohibited area or, in the case of multiple residences
on one property, measuring from the nearest property line of the premises
on which the multiple residences are located to the nearest property
line of the prohibited area.
(E)
A map
depicting prohibited areas within the City shall be maintained by
the Police Department and shall be reviewed at least annually for
changes. The map will be available to the public at the Police Department.
(F)
Other than a violation of subsection (B) of this section, neither allegation nor evidence of a culpable mental state is required for the proof of an offense defined by this section.
(G)
It is
an affirmative defense to prosecution that any of the following conditions
apply:
(1)
The
person required to register on the database established the permanent
or temporary residence prior to the date of the adoption of this section
and has complied with all of the sex offender registration laws of
the state.
(2)
The
person required to register on the database was a minor when he or
she committed the offense requiring such registration and was not
convicted as an adult.
(3)
The
person required to register on the database is a minor.
(4)
The
prohibited area at issue became a prohibited area after the person
established the permanent or temporary residence and the person has
complied with all sex offender registration laws of the state.
(5)
The
information on the database is incorrect, and, if corrected, this
section would not apply to the person who was erroneously listed on
the database.
(Ordinance 7117, sec. 4, adopted 1/7/20)
