BILLS TARGET SEX OFFENDERS

PFMLIT ABOUT SEX OFFENDERS, ABOUT SEX OFFENDERS AND OTHERS, FEDERAL, General, INTERNET OFFENDER CASES, INTERNET OFFENDER CASES, LAURA AHEARN AND PARENTS FOR MEGANS LAW, LEGISLATION, PFML, REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS AND OTHERS GENERAL, REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS GENERAL, SEX OFFENDER AND OTHERS RESTRICTIONS, SEX OFFENDER RESTRICTIONS

Newsday/Brandon Bain

Two proposed federal bills aimed at stopping registered sex offenders from using the Internet toprey on children or access child pornography would give local law enforcement officials anddistrict attorneys' offices more tools to prevent, investigate and prosecute sex crimes. The SAFEAct of 2007 would require electronic communications service providers such as America Online toreport any explicit child porn they discover to the National Center for Missing and ExploitedChildren, which will turn the information over to law enforcement. Providers failing to report suchsites could face a fine of $150,000 for the first offense and $300,000 for subsequent offenses. TheKIDS Act of 2007 would require sexual predators to register their e-mail addresses andinstant-message screen names with authorities for placement on the National Sex Offender Register.The bills are sponsored by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senator John McCain (R-Arizona).According to Parents For Megan's Law, Suffolk County currently has 829 registered sex offenders,while Nassau has 480.