PD-1369-15 02/03/2016
"The evidence is insufficient to support the conviction for the felony offense of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements since the evidence conclusively establishes a reasonable doubt as to whether appellant intentionally or knowingly failed to comply with the Texas Sex Offender Registration Program, as charged in the indictment. The Court of Appeals reliance on Robinson v. State, No. PD-0421-14, 2015 WL 4068109 (Tex. Crim. App. July 1, 2015), is in error since the indictment required the State to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that appellant intentionally or knowingly failed to provide his anticipated move date and new address."
Febus was required to register as a sex offender. When he moved into a new apartment in a different building on the same street in the complex, he updated his registration documents with the new apartment number but not the new street number.
The court of appeals rejected Febus' argument that the evidence was insufficient to prove failure to comply with registration requirements because his failure to correctly report his new address was simply a mistake. The court noted that according to Robinson v. State, the culpable mental state for the offense applies only to the duty to register and not to the failure to register.
Febus contends that Robinson notwithstanding, the indictment in this case alleged that he "intentionally and knowingly failed to timely provide in person [his]...new address," which clearly tied the culpable mental state to the failure to report. But because the evidence showed only a mistake, it was insufficient.
