GULLETT (ROGER) VS. COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
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RENDERED: SEPTEMBER 19, 2008; 10:00 A.M.
TO BE PUBLISHED
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Court of Appeals
NO. 2007-CA-002130-MR
ROGER GULLETT
v.
APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM FAYETTE CIRCUIT COURT
HONORABLE PAMELA R. GOODWINE, JUDGE
ACTION NO. 07-CR-00528
COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY
APPELLEE
OPINION
AFFIRMING
** ** ** ** **
BEFORE: CAPERTON AND STUMBO, JUDGES; BUCKINGHAM,1 SENIOR
JUDGE.
BUCKINGHAM, SENIOR JUDGE: Roger Gullett pleaded guilty in the Fayette
Circuit Court to criminal attempt to commit sexual abuse in the first degree, a
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Senior Judge David C. Buckingham sitting as Special Judge by assignment of the Chief Justice
pursuant to Section 110(5)(b) of the Kentucky Constitution and Kentucky Revised Statutes
(KRS) 21.580.
misdemeanor.2 The court sentenced Gullett to 12 months in jail but probated the
sentence for two years on various conditions. Gullett moved the court that he not
be required to register as a sex offender. Concluding that Gullett had been
convicted of a sex crime, the court denied his motion and required him to register
as a sex offender “because of the age of the victim.”3 Gullett appealed from this
portion of the judgment. We affirm.
Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 17.510 states in pertinent part as
follows:
Any person who has been convicted in a court of any
state or territory, a court of the United States, or a similar
conviction from a court of competent jurisdiction in any
other country, or a court martial of the United States
Armed Forces of a sex crime or criminal offense against
a victim who is a minor . . . shall comply with the
registration requirement of this section[.]
KRS 17.510(6).
“Sex crime” means:
(a) A felony offense defined in KRS Chapter 510, or
KRS 530.020, 530.064(1)(a), 531.310, or 531.320;
(b) A felony attempt to commit a felony offense
specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection; or
(c) A federal felony offense, a felony offense subject to a
court-martial of the United States Armed Forces, or a
felony offense from another state or a territory where
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The final judgment incorrectly referred to the offense as “Criminal Abuse to Sexual Abuse 1st
Degree.”
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The victim was nine years old at the time of the offense.
2
the felony offense is similar to a felony offense
specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection[.]
KRS 17.500(8).
The statutes also define a “criminal offense against a victim who is a
minor”:
(3)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this
subsection, “criminal offense against a victim who is a
minor” means any of the following offenses if the victim
is under the age of eighteen (18) at the time of the
commission of the offense:
1. Kidnapping, as set forth in KRS 509.040, except by a parent;
2. Unlawful imprisonment, as set forth in KRS 509.020, except by a
parent;
3. Sex crime;
4. Promoting a sexual performance of a minor, as set forth in KRS
531.320;
5. Human trafficking involving commercial sexual activity as set
forth in KRS 529.100;
6. Promoting prostitution, as set forth in KRS 529.040, when the
defendant advances or profits from the prostitution of a person under
the age of eighteen (18);
7. Use of a minor in a sexual performance, as set forth in KRS
531.310;
8. Sexual abuse, as set forth in KRS 510.120 and 510.130;
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9. Unlawful transaction with a minor in the first degree as set forth in
KRS 530.064(1)(a);
10. Any offense involving a minor or depictions of a minor as set
forth in KRS Chapter 531;
11. Any attempt to commit any of the offenses described in
subparagraphs 1. to 10. of this paragraph; and
12. Solicitation to commit any of the offenses described in
subparagraphs 1. to 10. of this paragraph[.]
KRS 17.500(3)(a).
The definition of “registrant” includes
Any person eighteen (18) years of age or older at the time
of the offense or any youthful offender, as defined in
KRS 600.020, who has committed:
1. A sex crime; or
2. A criminal offense against a victim who is a minor[.]
KRS 17.500(5)(a).
Gullett argues that he should not have been required to register as a
sex offender because he neither committed a “sex crime” nor “a criminal offense
against a victim who is a minor,” as those terms are defined above. The
Commonwealth responds that “[a]ppellant was required to register, not because he
committed a sex crime, but because he committed ‘a criminal offense against a
victim who is a minor.’” We agree with the Commonwealth.
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A person has committed “a criminal offense against a victim who is a
minor” if he attempted to commit a sex crime and the victim was under 18 years of
age. See KRS 17.500(3)(a)3. and 11. The definition of “sex crime” includes a
“felony offense defined in KRS Chapter 510[.]” See KRS 17.500(8)(a). Sexual
abuse in the first degree is an offense defined in KRS Chapter 510 (see KRS
510.110) and is, therefore, a “sex crime.” Thus, as argued by the Commonwealth,
because Gullett committed “a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor,” he
was required to register as a sex offender. See KRS 17.510(6).
The judgment of the Fayette Circuit Court is affirmed.
ALL CONCUR.
BRIEF FOR APPELLANT:
BRIEF FOR APPELLEE
Jason C. Rapp
Lexington, Kentucky
Jack Conway
Attorney General of Kentucky
James C. Shackelford
Assistant Attorney General
Frankfort, Kentucky
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