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Pippy Drafts Legislation to List Sex Offender Addresses
on Megan's Law Web Site
Senator Says Listing Only County, Hometown & Zip Code Not
Enough
HARRISBURG -- State
Sen. John Pippy (R-37) announced legislation that would require that all address
information for sex offenders be listed on the state Megan's Law web site.
Pippy's legislation, Senate Bill 1054, would
require that the addresses of all of Pennsylvania's 7,800 convicted sex
offenders be listed on the site, which is maintained by State Police.
Presently, addresses of only about 100 offenders designated as a “sexually
violent predator” are listed. The remainder includes only county, hometown and
zip code.
The measure would also require the site to note
which sexual offenders committed their crime against children, Pippy said.
“I have received numerous requests from citizens
to have Pennsylvania provide adequate and meaningful information about sex
offenders, as every other state does except Nevada, Vermont and Pennsylvania,”
said Pippy. “The reality is, there are thousands of registered sex offenders
across the commonwealth, and families could be living next door to one and not
know it.”
A “sexual offender” is a person who has been
convicted of one of 14 sexually violent offenses, including rape and unlawful
contact with a minor. A “sexually violent predator” is a sexual offender who
has been determined by the court to have a mental abnormality or personality
disorder that makes the person likely to engage in predatory sexually violent
offenses.
Senate Bill 1054 is part of legislation entitled
“Pennsylvania's Jessica's Law” (Senate Bill 944), sponsored by Sen. Jane Orie
(R-40) and Sen. John Rafferty (R-44), which would strengthen the Pennsylvania
Megan's Law by increasing penalties on sexual predators, requiring GPS
monitoring of sexual predators, and adding stricter registration requirements
for sexual predators.
Megan's laws are named after a New Jersey girl
who was raped and killed by a neighbor who was a convicted sex offender.
Jessica's Law is named for Jessica Lunsford, a Florida girl kidnapped, raped and
murdered by a sexual offender with a long criminal history.
“The purpose of these laws is to give
communities the information they need to keep children safe,” said Pippy.
“Right now, Pennsylvania falls far short of that. This legislation can help
turn that around.”
The address for the Pennsylvania Megan's Law
site is
www.pameganslaw.state.pa.us.
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