South Carolina H 3277: Sex offenders

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3277 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 05, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3277

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
23-3-557 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE CIRCUMSTANCEs IN WHICH SEX OFFENDERS MAY HAVE 
CONTACT OR CUSTODY WITH THEIR OR ANY OTHER MINOR CHILDREN, TO PROVIDE OFFENDERS 
MUST REPORT THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF THEIR MINOR CHILDREN TO THE COURT, AND TO 
PROVIDE THE SOLICITOR MUST PROVIDE NONOFFENDING PARENTS INFORMATION ABOUT 
SAFEGUARDING MINORS FROM OFFENDING PARENTS.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 23 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
23-3-557. (A) Notwithstanding 
another provision of law, after January 1, 2026, a person convicted of an 
offense that requires the person to register as a sex offender shall not have 
contact with his children who are less than eighteen years old.

 (B) 
The restriction imposed in subsection (A) may be lifted by the court upon the 
offender's:

 (1) 
successful completion of at least six months of documented cognitive behavioral 
therapy, psychotherapy, and treatment for sexual deviancy for each clinical 
diagnoses the offender received from a forensic psychological evaluation, prior 
to sentencing, by a qualified sex offense therapist or someone who specialized 
in sex offense therapy; and

 (2) 
demonstration of a reputable forensic psychologist's declaration that the 
offender's prior clinical diagnoses and sexual deviancy are in remission.

 (C) 
Notwithstanding another provision of law, the court shall not grant the 
offender unsupervised visitation of a minor child as long as the offender is 
prohibited from having contact with his minor children pursuant to this 
section.

 (D) 
Prior to permitting an offender to have contact with his minor children, the 
court must ensure that appropriate safety planning has been completed according 
to United States Justice Department's published guidelines so that a restricted 
graduated plan of reunification visitation is adhered to and supervised under 
appropriate clinical oversight to protect the mental and physical well being of 
the child.

 (E) 
Notwithstanding another provision of law, an offender shall not be granted 
custody of a minor child as long as the offender is prohibited from having 
contact with his minor children.

 (F) 
Once a person is convicted of an offense that requires the person to register 
as a sex offender, the person shall report to the court the names and known 
addresses of the person's minor children.

 (G) 
After the conviction of a person required to register as a sex offender who is 
the parent of a minor child, the circuit solicitor shall send information to 
the nonoffending parent regarding the nonoffending parent's legal rights, 
responsibilities, and ways to safeguard their children mentally and emotionally 
from the offending parent while the offending parent serves his probationary 
sentence or remains on the sex offender registry.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect on January 1, 
2026.

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This web page was last updated on February 05, 2025 at 12:02 PM