It is paramount that we know the location where sex offenders live in the United States. All too often we let these predators slip through the crack and melt into society, only to offend again. It should be mandatory upon their sentencing and parole that they “must” register. This is and should never be an option. More attention should be given to sexual predators as its only a matter of time before they strike again and escalate the assaults.
Annual registration is required for 10 years for people convicted of kidnapping, luring a child, indecent assault, incest and promotion of a child for prostitution and six similar crimes.
Rape convictions and convictions for eight other types of crime, including those convicted of a sex crime while classified as a sex offender, are sexually violent predators who must report quarterly to state police for life.
Offenders must file a report with state police within 48 hours after changing their address, workplace or school they are attending, or after leaving prison.
Sexual offenders moving into the state or leaving the state must notify state police within 48 hours. (Daily Courier)
Why do we let sex offenders off the hook? Their movement from state to state falls under the radar when they fail to re-register in their new locality. It is obvious that not having an updates registry can lead to tragedy. We need to look no further than the heinous abduction, rape and murder of Jessica Lunsford. We need to know where these people are. It is not about their rights. This is about the rights of innocent and unsuspecting children. Innocent people’s rights should not be trampled by animals.
States don’t know where to find at least 60,000 sexual predators because the offenders fail to report their address to police, a national children’s advocate said.
There is no doubt that sex predators non-compliance in registering should be considered a felony. Non-registration should result in a trip back to prison, no questions asked. A sex predator’s non-registration should be considered intent to commit another act. It is actually shocking the number of states who just seem not to care about protecting children and adults against sex predators. What are these politicians thinking? Are they pandering to the sex predator vote?
Unlike Pennsylvania, where noncompliance is a felony, there are 25 states where it’s a misdemeanor. Allen notes there are about 26,500 offenders in Ohio, 24,000 in New York and 11,000 in New Jersey.
Pennsylvania notifies neighbors when a violent predator moves in or enrolls in a college or university after serving a prison sentence. Some states rely on offenders to do that, Allen said.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimate there are a staggering 603,000 registered sex offenders in the US. There is at least another 100,000 that are non-compliant. A new Special Analysis Unit has been created by NCMEC to search databases, analyze information, and help identify and locate these fugitives.
The question remains as to why so many states do not take sexual predators serious. Why have they not passed harsher penalties for those that have offended? Especially when they know there is such a high percentage of those that will repeat and in doing so trying to hide from their past actions by not registering. The following state laws are a disappointment, to say the least.
There are 25 states where noncompliance with one or more registration duties may be treated as only a misdemeanor: Alaska, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
•In four states, when a sex offender moves from one state to another state, the responsibility to notify the new state is placed solely on the offender himself: Delaware, District of Columbia, Kansas, and Utah.
•In eight states, the law is ambiguous as to whether the state or the sex offender must notify a new state when the offender moves: California, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and Tennessee.
•In only seven states, when a sex offender fails to register, it is mandatory for parole to be revoked and the sex offender to be returned to prison: California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, and West Virginia. (NCMEC)
In July of 2006, Congress passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act. Politicians, stop dragging your heals. This is about protecting the publics safety and children. This is nothing to politicize. This is problem that needs to be addressed NOW! When dealing with sex predators, you are either with us or against us. There is no middle ground.
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