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Thompson v. State

O.C.G.A. § 42-1-13, which prohibits convicted sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of area where minors congregate, is not unconstitutional as applied to a convicted sex offender who was legally living near a municipal center when the statute went into effect since violation of the statute constitutes a new crime, not an increase to defendant's punishment for his prior offense.

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The question for decision in this case is whether OCGA § 42-1-13, which makes it a felony for a person required to register as a sex offender to “reside within 1,000 feet of any child care facility, school, or area where minors congregate,” is an unconstitutional ex post facto law when applied to an offender who was convicted before that Code section went into effect. The answer is “no.” Tommie Morris Thompson pled guilty to child molestation on August 24, 1999. He was sentenced to serve a probated sentence of ten years. On June 4, 2003, during the term of Thompson’s probation, OCGA §became effective. That statute provides that a sex offender commits a felony if he knowingly resides within 1,000 feet of an area where minors congregate.1

Thompson has lived in the same house since the late 1980′s or early 1990′s.2 The house is located within 303 feet of a municipal community center.

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