OH- Judge hears first sex offender to offer challenge

7-5-2009 Ohio:

LISBON - The first sex offender to challenge new classification requirements last year finally had his case heard by a judge, who said he should be designated Tier I, the level with the least requirements.

Brendan McClaskey, who lived in the Salem when he filed his case, received notification from the state in December 2007 that he was being reclassified as a sexual oriented offender and that his reporting requirements were being extended beyond the time of his original classification.

According to the document, he was convicted of corruption of a minor and attempt to corrupt a minor in Erie County, Ohio. The notification from the Ohio Attorney General said the offense under the law was unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

In a recent entry filed by Judge David Tobin of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, he found the McClaskey didn't actually get served with a letter from the state designating his Tier level, but he felt he should be designated Tier I, which means he has to register once a year for 15 years.

If he wants to contest that, Tobin said he could do than in the county of his residence.

In another case, Tobin ruled that the new registration requirement didn't apply to Randall Culler Jr., 29, of East Palestine, in the manner specified by the state. He was reclassified by the Ohio Attorney General as a Tier III sexual offender, meaning he would have to register his address every 90 days for the rest of his life and the community would have to be notified.

Tobin disagreed and said he should have been designated Tier I considering the facts of his case. He was convicted of sexual battery involving an adult female victim.

Besides Tier I and Tier III, there is the classification of Tier II, which requires an offender to register twice a year, every 180 days, for 25 years, with no community notification required. ..Source.. by MARY ANN GREIER, Staff Writer