Category Archive for : ‘MEGANS LAW NEWS’

New Jersey’s Megan’s Law notifications were stopped by a federal appeals court that finds that the release of sex offenders’ home addresses violated their constitutional rights.  New York’s version of Megan’s Law remains unaffected by the ruling.  Unfortunately, to find out about New York State’s worst offenders will cost you $5 for a phone call to a 900-telephone number or you have to go to police headquarters in Manhattan.  The state does not make it easy to find out where registered sex offenders live.  A nonprofit parents’ group called Parents

A challenge to a Tennessee law aimed at helping government officials and the public keep track of anyone ever convicted of a sex crime was rejected today by the Supreme Court.  A ruling that says the law does not invade anyone’s privacy or violate any other constitutionally protected rights was left intact by the court, without comment.  All 50 states have some type of sexual offender law modeled after a federal Megan’s Law, named for 7 year old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by

New York State is developing an Internet site listing the names and addresses of the worst of the convicted sex offenders living in New York.  At least 10 states have already created sex offender Web sites.  Convicted sex offenders must register with their local police departments upon their release from jail, under the state’s 1996 Megan’s Law.  Since 1998, residents wanting to see the list have had to go to their local police department or spend $5 on a call to a 900 number.  The site should be up and

Maureen Kanka, the co-founder of the Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation of Trenton, New Jersey, tells about her neighborhood being like any other neighborhood until one day her 7 year old daughter, Megan disappeared.  No one knew of the hidden danger lurking across the street from her house, posing an imminent threat; three convicted pedophiles lived on a street full of children.  A massive search was launched throughout the township.  Volunteers came from all over as she and her husband, Rich, frantically searched throughout the night calling her name.  A puppy

New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman introduced legislation that would amend the State Constitution to allow officials to post convicted sex offenders’ names on an Internet site.  According to New York Times, all 50 states now have similar statutes, and 16 states list the names and addresses of paroled sexual predators on Web sites.  But New Jersey’s Supreme Court has demanded sharp limits on who can be notified, citing concerns about vigilantism and parolees’ privacy rights.

Under new guidelines for New Jersey’s Megan’s Law, it is required that anyone notified that a sex offender lives near their home or school to sign papers saying they will not disseminate the information.  Acting on orders from a federal judge, the state attorney general on Thursday issued the guidelines to make sure information about sex offenders isn’t disseminated as widely.  The judge said sex offenders’ privacy rights were being violated under the old system.  Megan’s Law categorizes convicted sex offenders in three levels, based on the perceived danger they