Those added to the register have to abide by a series of strict requirements such as updating the authorities if they move address, if they intend to spend more than a week away from home or if they are planning on travelling abroad.
The idea is that careful monitoring of known sex offenders will reduce the risk of them committing further crimes.
It was set up in 1997 and there are tens of thousands of sex offenders listed on the national database.
Sheffield Crown Court hears cases each week where sex offenders are sentenced and placed on the register.
Here are eight such cases where attackers have been placed on the register, some of them for life.
To report sex offences, call South Yorkshire Police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.
1. Sex offenders
All these men have been placed on the Sex Offenders Register as a result of their criminal behaviour Photo: National World
2. Edem Sutton
Sheffield paedophile Edem Sutton is behind bars for sexually assaulting a boy he groomed for months beforehand. The 33-year-old befriended his victim, taking him on bike rides, speaking to him over social media and giving him gifts. After convincing the victim into staying at his home in October 2019, Sutton sexually assaulted the boy after he fell asleep watching a film. The victim, who has anonymity for life, told officers that after the assault, Sutton sent messages warning him not to tell anyone what had happened. Sutton, of Lupton Road, Lowedges, was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. He was sentenced to six years and six months in prison last month an placed on the sex offenders register for 15 years. Photo: National World
3. Roger Allen
Rioger Allen, aged 60, was jailed for 20 years this week for subjecting a child to years of “horrific sexual abuse”. He was locked up after admitting a litany of child sexual offences including numerous counts of sexual activity with a child, multiple counts of rape, as well as making indecent images of children and possessing an extreme pornographic image. Allen was arrested after his victim came forward, and when his property was searched a number of devices containing indecent images and videos of children were found. In addition to a 20-year prison sentence, Allen, formerly of Abbey Brook Gardens, Meadowhead, Sheffield, was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register. He pleaded guilty to 16 offences in total. Photo: National World
4. Louis Maidment
Louis Maidment, aged 28, was jailed for nine years for the rape and sexual abuse of two boys. He was convicted of a string of horrifying historical sex offences, including four counts of rape of a child under 13 and one count of causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court. Judge Robinson said the paedophile had failed to show a ‘scintilla of remorse’ for his crimes. Maidment, of Hinde House Lane, Firth Park, Sheffield, sexually abused the two boys, who were not known to each other, when he was between 15 and 16-years-old, and his victims were aged 10 and 11. He has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. Photo: National World