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Press
Release
NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN
CREATES NEW UNIT TO HELP FIND 100,000 MISSING SEX OFFENDERS AND CALLS
FOR STATES TO DO THEIR PART
Map
of Registered Sex Offenders in the United States 
Alexandria, VA - February 28, 2007
- According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
(NCMEC), there are an estimated 603,000 registered sex offenders in the
U.S. today. However, of that number, at least 100,000 sex offenders
are noncompliant and no one knows where they are. A new Special
Analysis Unit has been created by NCMEC to search databases, analyze information,
and help identify and locate these fugitives, to enable the U.S. Marshal's
Service to arrest them and bring them to justice. To date, the Marshals
have located more than 850 of the fugitive sex offenders.
However, inconsistency in the way many states track sex offenders or
treat noncompliance has enabled serious sex offenders to manipulate the
system and relocate to more lenient states. Examples of the inadequacy
of state laws include:
- There are 25 states where noncompliance with one or more registration
duties may be treated as only a misdemeanor: Alaska, California, Colorado,
District of Columbia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota,
Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington,
West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
- In four states, when a sex offender moves from one state to another
state, the responsibility to notify the new state is placed solely
on the offender himself: Delaware, District of Columbia, Kansas, and
Utah.
- In eight states, the law is ambiguous as to whether the state or
the sex offender must notify a new state when the offender moves: California,
Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, South
Dakota and Tennessee.
- In only seven states, when a sex offender fails to register, it is
mandatory for parole to be revoked and the sex offender to be returned
to prison: California, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota,
and West Virginia.
In July of 2006, Congress passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act, which included four important provisions: mandated
the creation of a national sex offender registry database and website;
made the failure to register and be compliant a federal felony; mandated
that states make changes in their laws to create greater consistency
and uniformity on a national level; and tasked the U.S. Marshals with
tracking down fugitive sex offenders.
However, states have three years to become fully compliant with the
new law. “States need to fully implement the new law immediately
so we know where these sex offenders are, and tougher penalties will
make it less desirable for them to be noncompliant,” said Ernie
Allen, President and CEO of NCMEC. “We cannot allow known
sex offenders to continue to take advantage of the inconsistency in reporting
and tracking in many states. States have the ability to prevent
more predators from slipping through the cracks and harming more children. They
need to act today.”
“We know that two-thirds of sex offenders who are in state prisons
have admitted that their victims were children,” said Allen. “And
we know that sex offenders who harm children are most likely to be repeat
offenders.”
An estimated 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys will be sexually victimized
in some way before they reach age 18, and only 1 in 3 will report it.
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About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
NCMEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation
with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline,
a reporting mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more
than 441,900 leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted
law enforcement with more than 127,700 missing child cases, resulting
in the recovery of more than 110,200 children. For more information about
NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit
its web site at www.missingkids.com.
For purposes of our research, the District of Columbia is counted
as a state.
Contact:
NCMEC Communications Department
(703) 837-6111
media@ncmec.org
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