MELTON, Justice.
Following the trial court's ruling that permanently enjoined the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) from requiring Mario Urbina to register as a sex offender, Brian Owens, Commissioner of the GDC, appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.
The record shows that Urbina, a Georgia resident, taught piano lessons to children in Alabama. On February 1, 2012, Urbina was indicted in Alabama for (1) Enticing a Child to Enter for Immoral Purposes and (2) Sex Abuse of a Child Less than 12 Years of Age. It was alleged in the indictment that Urbina had sexual contact with a young female in a room at the church where he was teaching piano lessons. On April 26, 2012, Urbina entered into a negotiated plea with the State of Alabama to plead guilty to Interference with Custody, a Class C felony in Alabama that is punishable for up to ten years in prison.
We reach the same judgment as the trial court, but employ different reasoning.
In relevant part, registration as a sex offender is required for any individual "convicted... of a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor" or who is a resident of Georgia and intends to reside in this state who is "convicted under the laws of another state or the United States ... of ... a criminal offense against a victim who is a minor." OCGA § 42-1-12(e)(1) and (5). (Emphasis supplied.) A criminal offense against a victim who is a minor is defined, in part, as any "conduct which, by its nature, is a sexual offense against a victim who is a minor." OCGA § 42-1-12(a)(9)(B)(xi).
As a result, for purposes of registration in Georgia, the parties argue extensively about whether Urbina's crime should be considered a felony pursuant to Alabama law or a misdemeanor pursuant to Georgia law. In addition, Owens argues that, irrespective of the classification of the punishment, the GDC should be allowed to impose registration requirements if the underlying criminal act constituted conduct towards a minor that was sexual in nature. See Price v. State, 320 Ga.App. 85(4), 738 S.E.2d 289 (2013).
Based on the record related to Urbina's actual conviction for Interference with Custody in Alabama as it now exists, which is limited to the facts contained in the information and guilty plea form, it cannot be said that the crime in issue is a "conviction resulting from an underlying sexual offense against a victim who is a minor." OCGA § 42-1-12(a)(9)(A)(vii). The information, which is the only factual basis of record for Urbina's guilty plea, states that he "did knowingly take or entice a child under the age of 18,... from the lawful custody of [her] parent, guardian, or other lawful custodian." Even if this act could be considered a felony under Georgia law, it would not constitute a sexual offense. As a result, the trial court correctly determined that Urbina cannot be required to register as a sex offender in Georgia, though it employed different reasoning. See
Owens's arguments focusing on the underlying facts of Urbina's original indictment do not change this result. Though certainly troubling, those facts were the basis for the indictment that the State of Alabama nolle prossed. The factual basis set forth in the later information upon which Urbina was actually convicted are quite different, and it is the facts related to the conviction, not the allegations relating to the abandoned indictment, which must control our analysis.
Based on this conclusion, we need not consider Owens's remaining arguments, including those requiring an equal protection analysis.
Judgment affirmed.
All the Justices concur.