TN- Tenn. sex offenders still not registering all aliases online

A former name (i.e., herein a marriage name) is not an alias and a woman is legally in her right to use any LEGAL name she desires. Tennessee folks are trying to stretch the definition of "alias" to include misconstructions to satisfy the failure of the legislature to properly describe its intent within the law.

4-18-2009 Tennessee:

A new law aimed at fixing an apparent loophole in how sex offenders report to the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registry may not be working.

6 News first reported about this issue two years ago when we showed how local convicted sex offender Kristi Oaks couldn't be found in the registry's online database. That's because she registered using her maiden name instead of her married name.

Our report led to a change in state law in July 2008 forcing sex offenders to register under all known aliases.

However, a year later, the database apparently still hasn't been updated.

In 2006, Oaks was sentenced for the 2004 statutory rape of one of her 16-year-old students.

When you search for Oaks on the Sex Offender Registry now, her appearance has changed and she's still going by Kristi Dance, not Oaks.

It's something she's done for at least the last two years.

It's an issue 6 News brought to state Sen. Tim Burchett in 2007. He drafted legislation to keep this from happening, but clearly the law isn't working.

(eAdvocate Post)


When asked, "Is this a feel good law with no teeth to it?" Burchett says, "No, it all deals with enforcement."

The new law requires all sex offenders to register under the name used when they were convicted.

In addition, they must include any other name they've ever used and an updated picture must appear on the Web site.

Burchett says someone isn't doing the job. "Government has failed once again."

6 News asked, "Who should we hold responsible?"

"All of us," Burchett says. "Myself, I'm glad you brought it to me and now we're going to get it corrected."

6 News also asked the senator what he plans to do about it. "The only thing I have that I'm able to do is their word, which I've just gotten on the phone on the way over here and then when we review their budget. I can hold their budget up as long as need be until we get this problem corrected," Burchett says.

The senator believes the breakdown may have occurred between TBI and the law enforcement officers trained to enter the information.

A TBI spokesperson tells 6 News the agency responsible for entering the data, in this case, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, didn't include the information.

TBI released this statement:

"The omission of her (Dance's) alias appears to be a simple clerical error. The local law enforcement agency who submitted her registry information into the sex offender registry software didn't include her alias. We have since updated the information and it will appear on the Web site Saturday." ..News Source.. by ERICA ESTEP, 6 News Anchor/Reporter