Parks and children’s venues: anyone on the registry may not work, enter or remain

It is the presence and employment ban, at children’s entertainment parks and venues, for anyone registered in the registry of persons convicted of sexual offenses and abuse against minors. It is a direct statutory prohibition: it does not depend on the establishment having its own policy, nor on the park being public.

The prohibition applies to every person registered in the Registry of Persons Convicted of Sexual Offenses and Abuse Against Minors, while registered. The protection reaches every minor under eighteen (18) at public and/or private parks and establishments dedicated to their entertainment, including electronic and video game arcades.

• That the person be registered in the Registry of Persons Convicted of Sexual Offenses and Abuse Against Minors, created by Act 266-2004, as amended.Verified against the official source
• That the place be a public and/or private park or establishment dedicated to the entertainment of children and youth, including electronic and video game arcades.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: The prohibition has three verbs, not one

   The article says it in full: it prohibits working in, entering and/or remaining. That the person approaches no child does not take them out of the prohibition; nor does working only at the counter or the bar. Employment is barred by statute, not by business policy.

2. 2

   Step 2: Public or private makes no difference

   The definition is express: “public and/or private” parks and establishments dedicated to the entertainment of children and youth, including electronic and video game arcades. A birthday venue, a ball pit or an arcade falls in by definition if it is dedicated to entertaining minors.

3. 3

   Step 3: The prohibition must be in the sentence

   This article is what gives it practical force: every sentence imposed on any person subject to the Registry must expressly contain the prohibition on entering and/or remaining at parks and/or premises dedicated to the entertainment of children and youth, while the person is registered. It is not a general warning: it is written into the sentence.

4. 4

   Step 4: What penalty it carries

   A fourth-degree felony: imprisonment between six (6) months and one day and three (3) years or a fine not exceeding five thousand (5,000) dollars, or both, at the Court’s discretion.

5. 5

   Step 5: If you see it, go to the Police

   It is a criminal violation, so the route is a complaint before the Puerto Rico Police. The law charges the Department of Sports and Recreation and the Police with establishing the regulation necessary for implementation. It is not your job to verify the registry or confront anyone: note what you saw and take it to the Police.

The Puerto Rico Police receives the complaint; the Department of Sports and Recreation and the Police are the agencies the law charges with the regulation. If what you want is to consult the registry itself, that is the Sex Offender Registry guide, which explains what is published and what is not.

• Believing only entering is banned: the law prohibits working in, entering and/or remaining.
• Thinking a private venue is outside: the definition says public and/or private.
• Excluding arcades: the law expressly includes them.
• Assuming the ban is indefinite: it applies while the person is registered.
• Confronting the person instead of reporting: enforcement belongs to the Police and the courts.
• Using registry information to harass: it can carry civil or criminal liability.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Policía de Puerto Rico

  Policía de PR

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov

• Puerto Rico Police

  Policía de Puerto Rico

  policia.pr.gov