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By Stacie D. Rumenap July 9, 2008 Page 2 of 2 Prior to 1994, for instance, few states required sex offenders to register their addresses with local law enforcement. But when public outrage flowed from repeat news stories of child abductions and murders, Congress reacted by passing the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Act. Named for 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling of St. Joseph, Minnesota, whom authorities believe was abducted by a sex offender in 1989, the law requires states to implement a sex offender registration program. Lawmakers came to realize, however, that registration alone was not enough. The tragic murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka by a twice-convicted violent sex offender living on her street in Trenton, New Jersey prompted swift Congressional action. In 1996, Congress amended the Wetterling Act, requiring states to disseminate publicly information about sex offenders on community websites. In response to the 1996 abduction and homicide of nine-year old Amber Hagerman of Arlington, Texas, Congress introduced the first Amber Alert. Now, when witnesses provide information helpful to the recovery of a child, law enforcement authorities can provide the public with that information and solicit their assistance in locating the suspected kidnapper. Today, all 50 states have sex offender registries, notification programs, and Amber Alert broadcasts. Finally, the latest trend in child safety flourished in the aftermath of the death of Jessica Lunsford, the nine-year-old girl who was abducted, raped, and murdered in Homosassa, Florida in 2005 by a twice-convicted sex offender. The law requires mandatory minimum sentences and electronic monitoring for convicted sex offenders. States have overwhelmingly adopted such measures. It is for good reason lawmakers have enacted tougher penalties for convicted sex offenders. The sexual victimization of children is overwhelming in magnitude yet largely unrecognized and underreported. There are over 600,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. It is estimated that one in five girls and one in ten boys are sexually exploited before they reach adulthood, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Worse, less than 35% of those child sexual assaults are reported to authorities. To this point, the Supreme Court's decision that the Eighth Amendment categorically prohibits the death sentence for child rapists is simply unsound. The Louisiana State Legislature deemed the rape of a child so severe as to qualify for the death sentence. As the statute does not violate the Cruel and Unusual Punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment on objective grounds, the moral discretion of elected legislators should not be overturned by five appointed individuals. --- Stacie D. Rumenap is the executive director of Stop Child Predators, a non-profit organization in Washington, DC that prevents the sexual exploitation of children and protects the rights of crime victims. For more information, visit www.stopchildpredators.org. -------------------- Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA. >> Back -- Page 1 2
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