WA- Sex offenders' online social activities may soon be monitored

7-13-2009 Washington:

OLYMPIA -- Thousands of convicted sex offenders who must now tell authorities where they live also could be required to share the names and addresses they use when hanging out online.

A statewide panel is considering whether high-risk juvenile and adult sex offenders should be required to register e-mail addresses, blogs and usernames on social networking sites such as Facebook.

Some argue the information will help law enforcement keep better track of these criminals. Others worry it will create a false sense of safety if the public believes every mouse click by these offenders will be monitored when it won't.

The Sex Offender Policy Board will sort through the arguments and make recommendations to the Legislature in November. They'll be part of the panel's broader review of the state's system of registration and public notification of sex offenders.

Rep. Kirk Pearson, R-Monroe, hopes the panel backs the change.

In 2008, Pearson unsuccessfully pushed a bill requiring sex offender e-mail and Web addresses be registered. This year's version, authored by Rep. Brad Klippert, R-Sunnyside, passed after it was revised into a study by the policy board.

"It's not a bad idea for law enforcement to have that information on file," said Pearson, the ranking Republican on the House public safety committee. "I do think it can help when they're doing their investigations."

Brad Meryhew, a criminal defense lawyer on the policy board, sees more negatives than benefits.

It will be costly to implement, difficult to enforce and those convicted of serious sex offenses can already be barred as a condition of their sentence from using the Internet, said Meryhew, a Seattle attorney whose practice is exclusively representing sex offenders.

He foresees rashes of offenders charged with failure to register if they don't inform authorities quickly enough of a new e-mail or revised Facebook account.

"It doesn't make sense. I don't see how community safety is improved by having someone's e-mail addresses," he said. "I don't think its a practical way to get at Internet-related offenses."

Today, 21 states mandate that sex offenders provide data about their online identities at the time they register their home address, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The number likely will grow in the next year because a federal law requires states enact rules for collection of the data by July 2010. Those that don't comply could lose out on thousands or even millions of federal dollars for law enforcement.

Washington's Sex Offender Policy Board is a 16-member panel with representatives of courts, prisons, crime victims, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Created two years ago, it's been analyzing treatment, supervision and housing of sex offenders as well as prevention of sex offenses.

It's been measuring the state's guidelines against the federal statute. In the coming weeks it will focus on tracking the online habits of registered sex offenders, which now number about 4,370 statewide.

Anmarie Aylward of the Department of Corrections isn't sure which path to go.

Research is limited. Yet, she said, "It may be good public policy."

If an offender is prevented from using a false identity on a site like MySpace then it's worth trying, said Aylward, a board member.

On the other hand, she said, "We don't want to set up something that gives people the impression that if they are Twittering somebody, that person is not a sex offender. We won't know that for certain."

Kecia Rongen, a program administrator in the state's Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration and a policy board member, said different juvenile and adult offenders need to be treated differently.

Juveniles convicted of sex offenses are, for the most part, not using the Internet to facilitate their crime, she said.

For many, going online will help them re-engage in society, she said. Any gains could be blunted by overly restrictive registration mandates.

Like Meryhew, she worried about juveniles getting sent back to jail for failing to promptly inform authorities of a new user account.

"Being selective about whom we apply the rules to makes the most sense," she said.

Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick said his detectives could certainly benefit as they use the Internet to track and contact the offenders.

Officers could send e-mails informing sex offenders of changes in law or simply to get in touch with them for some unresolved matter, he said.

Attorney General Rob McKenna, whose office is represented on the policy board, avoided an absolute stance.

"I think it is definitely worth considering. If the goal is to monitor what the sex offender is doing, it probably makes sense to check their use of social networks," he said.

It won't be effective without follow-up and law enforcement's lack of resources makes that difficult, he said.

McKenna's office makes wide use of existing social media from Facebook to Twitter and everything in between. He said he does it to go to where the public hangs out.

That's what makes it alluring to sex offenders.

"They go where the prey is," he said. ..Source.. by Jerry Cornfield, Herald Writer