(1) The Department of Correctional Services shall order an evaluation of the following individuals by a mental health professional to determine whether or not the individual is a dangerous sex offender:

(a) Individuals who have been convicted of (i) sexual assault of a child in the first degree pursuant to section 28-319.01 or (ii) sexual assault in the first degree pursuant to section 28-319;

(b) Individuals who have been convicted of two or more offenses requiring registration as a sex offender under section 29-4003 if one of the convictions was for any of the following offenses: (i) Kidnapping of a minor pursuant to section 28-313, except when the person is the parent of the minor and was not convicted of any other offense; (ii) sexual assault in the first degree pursuant to section 28-319 or sexual assault in the second degree pursuant to section 28-320; (iii) sexual assault of a child pursuant to section 28-320.01; (iv) sexual assault of a child in the first degree pursuant to section 28-319.01; (v) sexual assault of a child in the second or third degree pursuant to section 28-320.01; (vi) sexual assault of a vulnerable adult or senior adult pursuant to subdivision (1)(c) of section 28-386; (vii) incest of a minor pursuant to section 28-703; (viii) visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct of a child pursuant to section 28-1463.03; or (ix) any offense that is substantially equivalent to an offense listed in this section by any state, territory, commonwealth, or other jurisdiction of the United States, by the United States Government, or by court-martial or other military tribunal, notwithstanding a procedure comparable in effect to that described in section 29-2264 or any other procedure to nullify a conviction other than by pardon;

(c) Individuals convicted of a sex offense against a minor who have refused to participate in or failed to successfully complete the sex offender treatment program offered by the Department of Correctional Services or the Department of Health and Human Services during the term of incarceration. The failure to successfully complete a treatment program due to time constraints or the unavailability of treatment programming shall not constitute a refusal to participate in treatment; and

(d) Individuals convicted of failure to comply with the registration requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act who have previously been convicted for failure to comply with the registration requirements of the act or a similar registration requirement in another state.

(2) The evaluation required by this section shall be ordered at least one hundred eighty days before the scheduled release of the individual. Upon completion of the evaluation, and not later than one hundred fifty days prior to the scheduled release of the individual, the department shall send written notice to the Attorney General, the county attorney of the county where the offender is incarcerated, and the prosecuting county attorney. The notice shall contain an affidavit of the mental health professional describing his or her findings with respect to whether or not the individual is a dangerous sex offender.

Annotations

This section provides a mechanism for identifying potentially dangerous sex offenders prior to their release from incarceration and for notifying prosecuting authorities so that they have adequate time to determine whether to file a petition under the Sex Offender Commitment Act before the offender's release date. It does not create any substantive or procedural rights in the offender who is the subject of the mental health evaluation. In re Interest of D.H., 281 Neb. 554, 797 N.W.2d 263 (2011).