(A) When a person is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to an "Offense Against the Person" as provided for in Title 16, Chapter 3, an "Offense Against Morality or Decency" as provided for in Title 16, Chapter 15, criminal domestic violence, as defined in § 16-25-20, criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature as defined in § 16-25-65, or the common law offense of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, and the act on which the conviction or the plea of guilty or nolo contendere is based involved sexual or physical abuse of a child, the court shall order that the person’s name, any other identifying information, including, but not limited to, the person’s date of birth, address, and any other identifying characteristics, and the nature of the act which led to the conviction or plea be placed in the Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect established by Subarticle 13, Article 3, Chapter 7 of Title 63. The clerk shall forward the information to the Department of Social Services for this purpose in accordance with guidelines adopted by the department.

(B) For purposes of this section:

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 17-25-135

  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.

(1) "Physical abuse" means inflicting physical injury upon a child or encouraging or facilitating the infliction of physical injury upon a child by any person including, but not limited to, a person responsible for the child’s welfare, as defined in § 63-7-20.

(2) "Sexual abuse" means:

(a) actual or attempted sexual contact with a child; or

(b) permitting, enticing, encouraging, forcing, or otherwise facilitating a child’s participation in prostitution or in a live performance or photographic representation of sexual activity or sexually explicit nudity; by any person including, but not limited to, a person responsible for the child’s welfare, as defined in § 63-7-20.