A sex offender is any person who resides, works or attends an institution of higher learning in the Commonwealth and who has been convicted of a sex offense, or who has been adjudicated as a youthful offender or as a delinquent juvenile by reason of a sex offense, or a person released from incarceration or parole or probation supervision or custody with the Department of Youth Services for such a conviction or adjudication, or a person who has been adjudicated a sexually dangerous person or a person released from civil commitment on or after August 1, 1981.
Sex offenders will be classified according to the degree of dangerousness they pose to the public and their likelihood for re-offense. An offender’s classification will be:
- Level 1 or “low risk” offender,
- Level 2 or “moderate risk” offender, or
- Level 3 or “high risk” offender
Massachusetts Sex Offender Online Search Page – Please be advised that level 2 sex offenders that were classified AFTER July 12, 2013 may now appear in this search. Level 2 offenders classified as such PRIOR to July 12, 2013 remain available only by inquiry to the Longmeadow Police Department.
Where the Sex Offender Registry Board determines that the risk of reoffending by an offender is low and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public by that offender is not such that a public safety interest is served by public availability, the Board shall give that offender a Level 1 designation. Information on Level 1 offenders will not be available to the public. Neither the police nor the Board has the authority to disseminate information to the general public identifying a Level 1 offender. Information identifying Level 1 offenders may only be given to the Department of Correction, any county correctional facility, the Department of Youth Services, the Department of Social Services, the Parole Board, the Department of Probation and the Department of Mental Health, all city and town police departments and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for law enforcement purposes.
Where the Board determines that the risk of reoffending is moderate and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a public safety interest is served by public availability of registration information, it shall give a level 2 designation to the sex offender.
The public shall have access to the information regarding a level 2 offender through the Ipswich Police Department and through the Sex Offender Registry Board.
Where the Board determines that the risk of reoffending is high and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a substantial public safety interest is served by active dissemination, it shall give a level 3 designation to the sex offender.
The public shall have access to the information regarding a level 3 offender through the Ipswich Police Department and through the Sex Offender Registry Board.
Resources for Additional Information & Assistance
- Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board
- Massachusetts Parole Board
- Office of the Commissioner of Probation
- Department of Public Health – Sexual Assault Prevention and Survivor Services–
- Jane Doe Inc: The Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence
- Stop It Now
- Massachusetts Citizens for Children
- Massachusetts Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers (MATSA)
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- KlaasKids
- Center for Sex Offender Management