IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 1-656 / 00-1911
Filed December 28, 2001
IN THE INTEREST OF M.L.B., Minor Child,
M.L.B., Minor Child,
Appellant.
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Mary
L. Timko, Associate Juvenile Judge.
M.L.B. appeals the juvenile court's order requiring her to register
on the sexual offender registry. AFFIRMED.
Martha M. McMinn, Sioux City, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Karen Doland, Assistant
Attorney General, Thomas S. Mullin, County Attorney, and Michele Lauters,
Assistant County Attorney, for appellee-State.
Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Miller and Eisenhauer, JJ.
VOGEL, P.J.
Michele was adjudicated delinquent for sexual contact engaged in when
she was sixteen years old and which involved a twelve-year-old boy. At a
later hearing, Michele was ordered to register as a sexual offender.
Michele appeals the court's registration decision, arguing the record
demonstrated she should be excepted from the registration requirement.[1]
Upon review we find this matter fits the criterion outlined in Supreme
Court Rule 9, for the issuance of a memorandum opinion.
Scope of Review. A juvenile court's statutory interpretation is
reviewed for errors at law. In re G.J.A., 547 N.W.2d 3, 5 (Iowa 1996).
Decisions as to whether an otherwise qualifying juvenile should be excepted
from registration are reviewed for an abuse of discretion. In re S.M.M.,
558 N.W.2d 405, 407 (Iowa 1997).
Registration Requirement. In maintaining the consensual nature of the
underlying acts and her minimal risk of reoffending should relieve her from
the registration requirement, Michele appears to makes a two-prong
argument. She seems to contend the acts she committed are not subject to
registration under the applicable statutes and, even if the statutes apply
to her case, the juvenile court abused its discretion when it ordered her
to register.
The juvenile court is not allowed to determine which offenders fall
within the criteria of the registration statute. In re S.M.M., 558 N.W.2d
at 407. Inclusion is statutorily prescribed. Id. Chapter 692A mandates
registration of any juveniles adjudicated delinquent of a qualifying sexual
offense, including "[a]ny indictable offense against a minor involving
sexual contact with the minor," Iowa Code § 692A.1(4)(g) (1999), "unless
the juvenile court finds that the person should not be required to register
. . . ." Iowa Code § 692A.2(4). In this case the offense underlying the
adjudication involved conduct with another minor that constituted sexual
abuse in the third degree, a class C felony.[2] Clearly, on the face of
the statute, registration was presumptively required.
It then fell to the juvenile court to determine whether Michele should
be exempted from registration. In re S.M.M., 558 N.W.2d at 407. We agree
with the juvenile court that in addition to the underlying facts of her
current delinquency adjudication, the record is replete with evidence of
Michele's lengthy history of sexual encounters and sexually acting out. We
therefore find no abuse of discretion in the court's determination that
Michele should not be exempted from the registration requirements.
AFFIRMED.
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[1] Michele also contends certain files and reports should not have been
admitted into evidence. However, as counsel lodged no objection at any
time prior to the court's consideration of the documents, this issue is not
preserved for our review. See In Interest of A.V.E., 356 N.W.2d 204, 205
(Iowa 1984) (considering on appeal only those objections raised at the
delinquency hearing).
[2] See Iowa Code §§ 709.1, 709.4(2)(b) (1999).
