Wyoming teen sex registry bill moves forward

2-16-2011 Wyoming:

CASPER, Wyo. — A bill that would require teenagers who commit violent sex crimes to register as sex offenders cleared a state legislative committee Monday.

Under the legislation, neighbors, school officials and law enforcement would be notified of certain juvenile sex offenders living in the community. But those teenagers would not be listed on the state's online database.

Wyoming currently does require juveniles to register as sex offenders.

The legislation, which was passed unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee, is designed to bring Wyoming into compliance with federal guidelines for sex offender registration. The bill would require all sex offenders to register e-mail accounts, online user names and their work or school addresses.

The committee, however, amended the bill to keep offenders' Internet identifiers and phone numbers off the public database. Instead, that information would be kept by law enforcement.

Last month, the House Judiciary Committee stripped the juvenile registration provisions from the bill. When it reached the House floor, Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, amended the bill to include juveniles again.

Under his amendment, only teens who commit certain violent crimes, such as sexual assault and kidnapping, would be required to register. After 10 years, juveniles could also petition to have their names removed from the registry.

The House passed that version of the bill in late January.

"I think we've narrowly construed it down to just the juveniles that have committed heinous sexual assaults -- these are your most serious sexual assaults," Gingery said Monday. "And I think the neighbors have a right to know if there is a 17-year-old living next door that might abuse their 6-year-olds.

"We understand the argument on the other side that those offenders could be victims themselves, coming back to school. So we made sure they're not on the website — all we're doing is telling the neighbors about them, and we're telling youth organizations."

Juvenile crimes are normally kept private so teenagers have an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves, said Linda Burt, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Wyoming. Informing neighbors and others about a teenager's crimes will keep that from happening, she contends.

"They are bullied, they are harassed and they are pushed out of their communities because of this information," she said.

Sex offender registration laws across the country have become so broad that they are virtually useless for helping the public decide which offenders represent a true danger, she added. Burt said she's been contacted by several Wyoming men who are on the registry for the statutory rape of women who are now their spouses.

Wyoming would lose $85,000 in grant money if it fails to comply with the federal guidelines, according to Senate Judiciary Chairman Drew Perkins, R-Casper. That money is used to pay for drug enforcement programs.

The bill, however, is expected to cost the state $144,000.

Several other states have chosen not to comply with the guidelines because the cost of implementing them is greater than the reduction in grant funding. ..Source.. By JOSHUA WOLFSON Casper Star-Tribune