Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act

The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, known more commonly as the Wetterling Act, is a federal mandate that requires each state to establish registries that track released offenders found guilty of crimes against children and sexually violent offenses. These registries were created through the process of annually obtaining verified addresses of all such offenders for a period of 10 years after their release. In addition, the addresses of those considered to be sexually violent predators are required to be reported on a quarterly basis for the rest of their lives. Although the Wetterling Act is legally optional for states to participate, it is enforced by the federal government through the risk of reduced federal funding to states that do ...