State v. Randle

Appellee Blake Randle is a registered sex offender who seeks release from the sex offender registration requirements prescribed at OCGA § 42-1-12. In this case, we granted the State’s petition for certiorari to consider one of the criteria for eligibility for removal from the sex offender registry, namely, the requirement that the offense that resulted in the offender’s inclusion on the registry involved no intentional physical harm to the victim. See OCGA §§ 42-1-19 a 4, 17-10-6.2 c 1 D. The issue before us is whether the phrase intentional physical harm in this context includes physical contact that, while offensive and unwelcome, resulted in no physical pain or injury. We conclude that it does not, and we therefore affirm the Court of Appeals in its affirmance of the superior court’s order granting Randle’s petition for removal from the sex offender registry. See State v. Randle, 331 Ga. App. 1 769 SE2d 724 2015.

In 1993, Randle pled guilty under North Carolina v. Alford1 to one count of child molestation stemming from an incident in which he touched the penis of a ten-year-old boy. The trial court imposed an eight-year sentence, three to be served in prison and the balance on probation. Randall completed his prison sentence, registered as a sex offender in accordance with OCGA § 42-1-12, and served out the remainder of his term on probation, from which he was released in June 2001.