WI- Wis. court upholds sex offender registration

12-16-2008 Wisconsin:

WAUSAU, Wis. - A state appeals court says a Brown County man was properly placed on Wisconsin's sex offender registry even though his criminal conviction lacked a sexual element.

The Third District Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected James W. Smith's contention that placing him on the registry violated his constitutional rights.

The 26-year-old Smith was convicted of being party to false imprisonment of a child in 2001 in a dispute over a drug debt and ordered to register as a sex offender.

Court records say that four years later, the state charged Smith with failing to provide an annual update to the registry. He was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison.

The appeals court says the sex offender law protects children from both sex offenses and violence. ..News Source.. by Chicago Tribune