New sexual predator law to mandate closer supervision of offenders in Berks, across U.S.

The Adam Walsh Act will destroy lives of registrants AND anyone associated with them. This will go down in history as one of the worst destructions of society ever! And, it will flow from generation to generation.

11-22-2009 Pennsylvania:

Sex offenders don't like the way Megan's Law puts them in the public eye, but an even stricter law is on the way.

Being publicly labeled a violent sexual predator for the rest of his life unnerves Lower Alsace Township resident Richard F. Goodwin.

Recently released after serving five months in jail for sexually assaulting a little girl he baby-sat for five years, Goodwin, 78, registered his address with state police in Reading as required under the state's Megan's Law.

"I have to register for the rest of my life, and I don't like it," he said.

Goodwin is one of Pennsylvania's 351 violent predators, including 12 in Berks County, required to register his residence and vehicle with the state police every three months for the rest of his life and to undergo counseling even though he has served his sentence.

Pennsylvania has an additional 9,499 lower-level sexual predators, including 215 in Berks, who must register with police once yearly for 10 years under the state law. As with violent sex offenders, information about them is public and posted online for all to see.

But the number of violent sexual predators like Goodwin is expected to skyrocket to as many as 6,500 statewide, and an additional 3,000 to 3,500 lesser-sex-crime violators will be required to register with police because of a new federal law.

The Adam Walsh Act also requires juvenile sex offenders to register with police the same as adults, and it will cost the state an additional $5 million to implement the provisions by the July 2011 deadline.

Conflicts over law

Many in the criminal justice system see the state Megan's Law as effective, though some prosecutors and judges welcome the harsher penalties imposed under the federal Adam's Law.

Critics see the new law as an unnecessary and costly federal mandate and disagree with treating juvenile offenders the same as adults.

And while there is disagreement within the legal community, it's clear the federal law won't have fans among sex offenders.

"I don't like it," Goodwin said repeatedly during an interview. He said he has reformed.

"I know what I did is wrong and it will never happen again," he said. "I messed around with a little girl and I shouldn't have done it. I only did it once a week on Thursdays when I was baby-sitting.

"But it wasn't every Thursday," he said. "I don't think the law is fair."

Pennsylvania is in the process of making changes required by the federal law, which was passed so all states and Indian reservations meet the same standards.

So far, only Ohio and tribes on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, and the Yakama Nation tribes in Washington have implemented the new law. Federal authorities have required all states to be in compliance by July 2011.

The federal sex offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking agency in Washington is overseeing the process.

Scott Matson, agency senior policy adviser, said the purpose of the law is to prevent repeat offenses and to protect communities.

"Every state has their own rules and they are all different," Matson said. "The offenders can move from state to state to try and avoid the laws."

Matson said states face 10 percent cuts in federal criminal justice funding if they fail to apply by July for a deadline extension.

Upgrades costly

Pennsylvania spends $5.8 million a year enforcing Megan's Law.

State officials have applied for a $5 million grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund the upgrades.

Under the current system, offenders must register if they move out of state. But each state has different criteria.

"We have 50 separate systems and we need one," said Dr. Ivan L. Torres, a member of the Pennsylvania Sexual Assessment Board. "In England and Canada, they have a unified system."

The assessment board determines whether offenders are violent predators.

Meghan M. Dade, assessment board executive director, said the new registry will include more crimes and increase how often offenders must register.

"Megan's Law is an extremely effective tool for parents," she said.

State police Lt. Douglas Grimes, commander of the Megan's Law unit, anticipates the changes will be made in time to meet the deadline.

The state's sex crimes unit consists of 13 officers, legal assistants and clerical staff.

Grimes said the process will involve mostly rewriting the laws and upgrading computer programs.

But the expense of the upgrade is worth it to some.

Judge Linda K.M. Ludgate, head of Berks County criminal court, said Megan's Law is not strong enough. She welcomes the new federal law.

"Sex offenders are never cured," Ludgate said. "The sex abuse cases are the most important cases. The new law is doing as best as humanly possible to keep people safe."

Critics outspoken

The new law, meanwhile, provoked harsh responses from those in the criminal justice system who believe that even the existing law is unfair.

Defense lawyer Allan L. Sodomsky of Reading said that Megan's law needs to be fine-tuned.

"Blanket policies are never good," he said. "You can't generalize a problem. Every problem is unique to an individual."

Senior Judge Arthur E. Grim, who has presided in juvenile court for 21 years, believes juveniles should not be required to register on a public Web site.

The bulk of the juvenile sex offenders do not re-offend.

"The juvenile sex acts are more of an exploratory nature than a violent nature," Grim said. "To suggest that they should be required to register for 60 to 70 years does not make sense."

And the offenders themselves believe the penalties of Megan's Law are excessive.

"I don't think of myself as a predator," Goodwin said. "I didn't run after a dozen girls. I messed around with one little girl and I should not have done it."

Goodwin was sentenced Dec. 30 by Berks County Judge Thomas G. Parisi to six to 23 months in the county jail.

Dr. Veronique Valliere of the state Sexual Assessment Board, and Dr. Timothy E. Ring, a Wyomissing forensic psychologist hired by Goodwin, believe that Goodwin is a violent predator.

Valliere said Goodwin admitted his offenses but claimed the girl initiated them.

Goodwin said that he was a productive citizen, working at a bank for 25 years.

"The woman who evaluated me for the assessment board thinks I'm a violent predator, and my psychologist sided with her," he said.

Goodwin said he knew what he was doing was wrong but did it anyway.

"Five years after I stopped, she reported it to the police, and the child welfare people came," he said. "I didn't really think about Megan's law at the time. Now, I don't like it." ..Source..