Sex Offenders
| Author | Jeffrey Wilson |
| Pages | 527-532 |
Page 527
Society and policy makers have long struggled with finding effective ways to protect the public from sex offenders. A sex offender is a person who has been convicted of certain sex offense crimes. Examples of sex offenses include:
Sexual conduct with a minor
Sexual assault
Sexual assault of spouse
Molestation of a child
Continuous sexual abuse of a child
Infamous crimes against nature
Lewd and lascivious acts
Indecent exposure and public sexual indecency
Taking a child for the purpose of prostitution
Sexual exploitation of a minor
Incest
Kidnapping, aggravated assault, murder, unlawful imprisonment, and burglary (when the offense includes evidence of sexual motivation)
Failure to register as a sex offender
Violation of Sex Offender Registration statutes
Most offenses involving criminal sexual conduct fall within the jurisdiction of state law, but federal law also includes a number of sexual offenses. The offenses are found in Title 18 of the United States Code. Some of the federal offenses specifically apply to sexual offenses committed within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a federal prison. Other crimes involve offenders who cross state or international borders to commit, or in the commission, of a sexual offense. For example, 18 U.S.C. section 2251 makes it illegal to knowingly print, publish, or cause to be made, "any notice or advertisement seeking or offering to receive, exchange, buy, produce, display, distribute, or reproduce any visual depiction involving the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. This statute also applies when such person knows that such notice or advertisement will be, or has been, transported in interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer."
Federal sexual offense include:
Selling or buying of children (Section 2251A(a)(b))
Certain activities relating to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors, includ-
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ing both distribution and receipt of visual depictions in books, magazines, periodicals, films, and videotapes (Section 2252)
Certain activities relating to material constituting or containing child pornography (Section 2252A)
Production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States (Section 2260)
Transporting an individual in interstate or foreign commerce with the intent that the individual engage in prostitution or other illegal sexual activity (Section 2421)
Transportation of minors in interstate or foreign commerce, with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity (Section 2423(a))
Interstate or foreign travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a juvenile (Section 2423(b))
Use of interstate facilities to transmit information about an individual under the age of 16, with "the intent to entice, encourage, offer, or solicit that minor to engage in any sexual activity that can be charged as a criminal offense." (Section 2425)
On October 22, 1989, eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling was abducted as he, his brother, and a friend rode their bikes home from a convenience store in St. Joseph, Minnesota. Law enforcement authorities arrived on the scene within minutes. No sign of Wetterling or his abductor has ever been found, despite the involvement of local authorities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, hundreds of volunteer searchers, and more than 50,000 leads.
Jacob's disappearance spurred his family and supporters to found the Jacob Wetterling Foundation (JWF) in January 1990. The Foundation's mission is to protect children from sexual exploitation and abduction, through prevention education, victims' assistance, and legislation aimed at sex offenders. In 1991 JWF saw its first success with Minnesota's State Sex Offender Registration Act. The law provided law enforcement authorities with a comprehensive list of sex offenders in the state, something authorities lacked when Jacob was abducted.
JWF's agenda has included both state and federal legislative changes. In 1994, Congress passed the Omnibus Crime Bill. This legislation included the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sex Offender Registration Act. The law mandated that each state create a specific program to register sex offenders.
In 1996, the Wetterling Act was amended by Megan's Law (discussed below), and the Pam Lychner Sex Offender Tracking and Identification Act. The Lychner Act called upon the FBI to establish a national database of names and addresses of sex offenders who are released from prison. It also required lifetime registration for certain offenders. Its purpose is to make it easier for authorities to track the movements of convicted sex offenders throughout all 50 states. The National Sex Offender Registry can be found at http://www.nsor.net.
In 1997 other changes were made to the Wetterling Act. Changes included heightened registration requirements for sexually violent offenders such as members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Additional registration requirements were imposed for sex offenders who live in one state but go to school or work in another state.
The original impact of the Wetterling Act was to provide law enforcement authorities the means to track and locate convicted sex offenders. Community notification laws have adapted the idea to make information about sex offenders available to the public. Community notification laws, commonly referred to as sex offender registries, are most often associated with the 1994 rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka. She died just thirty yards from her own...
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