NEW JERSEY FAILING TO TRACK RELEASE OF SEX OFFENDERS

A convicted rapist was released in March before Bergen County prosecutors could be told.  This release was not an accident but an example of the state's failure to keep track of sex offenders who leave prison.  According to the New York Times, county prosecutors are routinely told just as sex offenders are walking out of prison, before any Megan's law notifications can begin.  The Senate Judiciary Committee hired Michael Chertoff, a former United States attorney, after the Corrections Department admitted it made numerous errors before Raymond Alves was released in March.  He had served less than half of a 47 year sentence for the rape of a teenager in Fair Lawn and the assault of a Clifton teenager.  Once freed, he took off on a 12 day bus tripe before being arrested and charged with violating sections of Megan's Laws.  Prosecutors in Bergen and Passaic Counties said they would have tried to block the release had they been alerted, as state law requires.

(Trenton, New Jersey)