UT- Sex Offender Bill Aims to Limit Communication Without Parental Consent

It never ceases to amaze me how short sighted lawmakers can be. Have they ever heard of a "juvenile sex offender" who attends school? This bill would prohibit them from anything we have always considered normal, the often not used meaning of intercourse, talking to the someone they may like to start a relationship with. Things are getting insaner, yes, insaner by the minute!

8-19-2008 Utah:

(KCPW News) A bill that aims to protect children from sex offenders will be discussed by Utah lawmakers this week. Representative Richard Greenwood's bill would require registered sex offenders to get written permission from a child's parent before accompanying them anywhere, if the child is under 14 years old and the offender had committed a crime against a child of the same age. Greenwood says the bill comes from a case in Sanpete County, where a few offenders have tried to hang out with random children and law enforcement officers didn't have any legal way to stop them.

"The sheriff says he identified the individuals that have done this, but there's absolutely nothing that he can do about it. He's quite confident because of his experience and what he has seen down in his county that these two individuals were trying to pick up these young ladies for no good," said Greenwood.

The bill makes it a Class A Misdemeanor for the sex offender to accompany a child under 14 without the parents' written permission. It also explicitly states that sex offenders can't defend themselves against it by claiming they did not know the child's age.

Greenwood says the Attorney General's office was concerned that child kidnappers would be able to use this bill to reduce a felony charge to a misdemeanor charge. But he says the bill won't allow for that to happen.

"There are provisions in there that if it does cross the line, and the individuals kidnaps a child, that this law would not apply, that they could not plea bargain, that the offense of kidnapping would be the offense that would be charged," said the legislator.

Greenwood's bill was passed by the House of Representatives this legislative session, but ran out of time when the session ended. It will be discussed by the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday. ..News Source.. by KCPW Newsroom