1-15-2011 Wyoming:
CHEYENNE -- A House committee heard public testimony Thursday on a bill that would require certain teens to register as sex offenders.
Lawmakers have been reluctant to update the state's online registry with information on juvenile offenders. Federal requirements include offenders as young as 14, but Wyoming's proposal would only register the most serious teen offenders.
It's a compromise that gives law enforcement options when dealing with juveniles, even if it doesn't bring Wyoming into full compliance with federal guidelines, Natrona County District Attorney Mike Blonigen said to members of the House Judiciary Committee.
"I know at some point we might be the big green space on (the television show for FOX News commentator) Bill O'Reilly," he said. "At some point we might lose federal money."
But if a juvenile sexual offense is significant enough to join the registry, then it's important enough to release to the public, he said.
There are approximately 1,200 offenders in Wyoming's registry, and 60 percent of these individuals don't have any ties to the state, said Byron Oedekoven with the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police.
He added that it raises questions about why a registered sex offender would want to move to Wyoming in the first place. And he supports the bill's stricter reporting requirements, which include workplace addresses, e--mail addresses and any screen names used online.
The purpose of the federal Adam Walsh Act is public safety, said Jennifer Horvath, an attorney with the Wyoming chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. She added that juvenile offenders are less likely than adults to become repeat offenders. Meanwhile, a majority of juvenile cases go through the adult court system in Wyoming.
The bill's juvenile exception won't do much to keep teens off the registry. The reporting requirements of youthful offenses also could follow juvenile offenders for as long as 26 years, she said.
Horvath added that teens who do commit another sexual crime likely would join the registry as adult offenders. ..Source.. by Michelle Dynes
January 15, 2011
Some teens may have to register online as sex offenders
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I am glad that Ms. Horvath of the ACLU is speaking up in defense of teen offenders, but does she have her facts straight? I thought the older the offender the less change of offending again. Somebody needs to send her a fact sheet.
"At some point we might lose federal money."
Ahhhhhhh. The "Buck" sticks its head up again right in the middle of the story. So they're not really concerned about whether or not they're doing the right thing by prosecuting juvenile offenders in the proper manner. What they're really concerned about is losing "FEDERAL DOUGH"!
Post a Comment