Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (2026)
Sex offender treatment board - Creation - Membership - Term - Duties - Immunity from liability
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) There is created, in the department of correction, a sex offender treatment board, which shall consist of twelve (12) members. The membership of the board shall consist of the following persons:
- (1) One (1) member representing the judicial branch, appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court;
- (2) Two (2) members representing the department of correction, appointed by the commissioner of correction;
- (3) One (1) member representing the Tennessee bureau of investigation, appointed by the director;
- (4) One (1) member representing the department of children's services, appointed by the commissioner of children's services;
- (5) One (1) member, appointed by the commissioner of correction, who is a licensed mental health professional with recognizable expertise in the treatment of sex offenders;
- (6) One (1) member, appointed by the commissioner of correction, who is a district attorney general;
- (7) [Deleted by 2021 amendment.]
- (8) One (1) member, appointed by the commissioner of correction, who is a public defender;
- (9) One (1) member, appointed by the commissioner of correction, who is a representative of law enforcement;
- (10) Two (2) members, appointed by the commissioner of correction who are recognized experts in the field of sex abuse, and who can represent sex abuse victims and victims' rights organizations; and
- (11) One (1) member, appointed by the presiding officer of the sex offender treatment board, who is a representative of the board of parole.
- (b) The commissioner of correction shall appoint a presiding officer for the board from among the board members appointed pursuant to subsection (a). The presiding officer shall serve as such at the pleasure of the commissioner.
- (c)
- (1) Any member of the board who is appointed pursuant to subdivisions (a)(1)-(4) shall serve at the pleasure of the official who appointed that member, for a term that shall not exceed four (4) years. Those members shall serve without additional compensation.
- (2) Any member of the board created in subsection (a) who is appointed pursuant to subdivisions (a)(5)-(10) shall serve for a term of four (4) years. Those members shall serve without compensation.
- (d) The board shall carry out the following duties:
- (1) The board shall develop and prescribe a standardized procedure for the evaluation and identification of sex offenders. The procedure shall provide for an evaluation and identification of the offender and recommend behavior management monitoring and treatment based upon the knowledge that sex offenders are extremely habituated and that there is no known cure for the propensity to commit sex abuse. The board shall develop and implement measures of success based upon a no-cure policy for intervention. The board shall develop and implement methods of intervention for sex offenders that have as a priority the physical and psychological safety of victims and potential victims and that are appropriate to the needs of the particular offender; provided, that there is no reduction of the safety of victims and potential victims;
- (2) The board shall develop guidelines and standards for a system of programs for the treatment of sex offenders that can be utilized by offenders who are placed on probation, incarcerated with the department of correction, placed on parole, or placed in community corrections. The programs developed shall be as flexible as possible, so that such programs may be utilized by each offender to prevent the offender from harming victims and potential victims. The programs shall be structured in a manner that the programs provide a continuing monitoring process, as well as a continuum of treatment programs for each offender as that offender proceeds through the criminal justice system, and may include, but shall not be limited to, polygraph examinations by therapists and probation and parole officers, group counseling, individual counseling, outpatient treatment, inpatient treatment, or treatment in a therapeutic community. The programs shall be developed in a manner that, to the extent possible, the programs may be accessed by all offenders in the criminal justice system. The procedures for evaluation, identification, treatment, and continued monitoring required to be developed shall be implemented only to the extent that funds are available in the sex offender treatment fund created in § 39-13-708;
- (3) The board shall develop a plan for the allocation of moneys deposited in the sex offender treatment fund created pursuant to § 39-13-708, among the judicial branch, the department of correction, and the department of children's services. In addition, the board shall coordinate the expenditure of funds from the sex offender treatment fund with any funds expended by any of the departments listed in this subdivision (d)(3) for the identification, evaluation, and treatment of sex offenders;
- (4) The board shall research and analyze the effectiveness of the evaluation, identification, and treatment procedures and programs developed pursuant to this part. The board shall also develop and prescribe a system for tracking offenders who have been subjected to evaluation, identification, and treatment pursuant to this part. In addition, the board shall develop a system for monitoring offender behaviors and offender adherence to prescribed behavioral changes. The results of the tracking and behavioral monitoring shall be a part of any analysis made pursuant to this subdivision (d)(4); and
- (5) The board shall compile and make available on the board's website a list of approved sex offender evaluation providers and a list of approved sex offender treatment providers that the board deems fit, based upon the provider's specific training, experience, and professional licensure, to fulfill the objectives set forth in this section.
- (e) The board and the individual members of the board shall be immune from any liability, whether civil or criminal, for the good faith performance of the duties of the board.
Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 409, s 16, eff. 7/1/2021.
Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 204, s 1, eff. 4/22/2021.
Acts 1995, ch. 353, § 5; 1996, ch. 968, §§ 2-4; 1996, ch. 1079, § 123; 1998, ch. 1049, § 13.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 16
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1999–2025 · leading case: State v. Pierce, 138 S.W.3d 820 (Tenn. 2004).
State v. Pierce, 138 S.W.3d 820 (Tenn. 2004). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (d)(l) (2003).”
State v. Mounger, 7 S.W.3d 70 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (a) (1997). Of the thirteen members of the board, ten are appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Correction, another is appointed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and still another is appointed by the board's presiding officer…”
State v. Reams, 265 S.W.3d 423 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2007). “” T.C.A. § 39-13-704(d)(2) (2006). When a defendant who is accused of committing one or more specified sex offenses seeks probation or other form of alternative sentence, the trial court must obtain an evaluation of the defendant.”
Craig Robert Nunn v. Tennessee Dep't of Corr., 547 S.W.3d 163 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2017). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (a). The sex offender treatment board had several duties, including the following: The board shall develop guidelines and standards for a system of programs for the treatment of sex offenders that can be utilized by offenders who are placed on…”
State of Tennessee v. Westley A. Albright, 564 S.W.3d 809 (Tenn. 2018). “]” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (d)(2).3 Sex offenders placed on probation are required “to submit to an evaluation for treatment [and] risk potential,” id.”
Wooden v. Lee (W.D. Tenn. 2025). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (d); see also State v.”
State of Tennessee v. Gregory Pierce (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). “Moreover, the legislature has created, per section 39-13-704, a Sex Offender Treatment Board within the Department of Correction.”
State of Tennessee v. Mustapha Boutchiche (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009). “st submit to an evaluation: On and after January 1, 1996, each sex offender who is to be considered for probation or any other alternative sentencing shall be required to submit to an evaluation for treatment, risk potential, procedures required for monitoring of behavior to…”
In the Matter OF Derrick B. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). “§ 39-13-704(d)(2) which discusses the use of polygraph examinations when monitoring and treating “sex offenders who have been ‘placed on probation, incarcerated with the department of correction, placed on parole, or placed in community corrections.”
In re A.J.H. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “After acknowledging the legislative sanction for the use of polygraph examinations in the treatment and monitoring of sex offenders as provided by Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-704(d)(2), the Pierce court stated, “the propriety of using polygraph tests in treatment and…”
State of Tennessee v. William A. Marshall (Tenn. Crim. App. 2002). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (d)(2) (Supp.”
State of Tennessee v. Russell Wheeler, Jr. (Tenn. Crim. App. 2021). “evant part, as follows: (a) On and after January 1, 1996, each sex offender who is to be considered for probation or any other alternative sentencing shall be required to submit to an evaluation for treatment, risk potential, procedures required for monitoring of behavior to…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704(a) — 2 cases
State v. Mounger, 7 S.W.3d 70 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (a) (1997). Of the thirteen members of the board, ten are appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Correction, another is appointed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and still another is appointed by the board's presiding officer…”
State v. Pierce, 138 S.W.3d 820 (Tenn. 2004). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (d)(l) (2003).”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704(d) — 1 case
Wooden v. Lee (W.D. Tenn. 2025). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (d); see also State v.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704(d)(1) — 8 cases
State v. Mounger, 7 S.W.3d 70 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (a) (1997). Of the thirteen members of the board, ten are appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Correction, another is appointed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and still another is appointed by the board's presiding officer…”
State of Tennessee v. Mustapha Boutchiche (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009). “st submit to an evaluation: On and after January 1, 1996, each sex offender who is to be considered for probation or any other alternative sentencing shall be required to submit to an evaluation for treatment, risk potential, procedures required for monitoring of behavior to…”
State of Tennessee v. Gregory Pierce (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). “Moreover, the legislature has created, per section 39-13-704, a Sex Offender Treatment Board within the Department of Correction.”
State of Tennessee v. Russell Wheeler, Jr. (Tenn. Crim. App. 2021). “evant part, as follows: (a) On and after January 1, 1996, each sex offender who is to be considered for probation or any other alternative sentencing shall be required to submit to an evaluation for treatment, risk potential, procedures required for monitoring of behavior to…”
State v. Martin Charles Jones (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000).
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704(d)(2) — 5 cases
State v. Pierce, 138 S.W.3d 820 (Tenn. 2004). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (d)(l) (2003).”
State v. Reams, 265 S.W.3d 423 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2007). “” T.C.A. § 39-13-704(d)(2) (2006). When a defendant who is accused of committing one or more specified sex offenses seeks probation or other form of alternative sentence, the trial court must obtain an evaluation of the defendant.”
State v. Mounger, 7 S.W.3d 70 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-704 (a) (1997). Of the thirteen members of the board, ten are appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Correction, another is appointed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and still another is appointed by the board's presiding officer…”
In the Matter OF Derrick B. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). “§ 39-13-704(d)(2) which discusses the use of polygraph examinations when monitoring and treating “sex offenders who have been ‘placed on probation, incarcerated with the department of correction, placed on parole, or placed in community corrections.”
In re A.J.H. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “After acknowledging the legislative sanction for the use of polygraph examinations in the treatment and monitoring of sex offenders as provided by Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-704(d)(2), the Pierce court stated, “the propriety of using polygraph tests in treatment and…”
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