Sex Offender Registries

History

In 1947, California enacted a sex offender registration program, the first in the nation to require convicted sex offenders to notify local law enforcement agencies of their whereabouts. A few states followed California's lead; then, in 1994, federal statutes mandated sex offender registries in each state.

Beginning in 1994, in response to public safety concerns focusing on child sexual offenders and individuals who commit sexual offenses in general, the United States Congress passed the first of three laws that would radically change sex offender registries: the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act (1994). The act was named after Jacob Wetterling, an 11-yearold boy who, in 1989, was kidnapped in front of his 10-year-old brother and 11-year-old friend by a masked gunman. Jacob is still missing. The Wetterling Act required states that previously did not have established sex offender registries to establish them in an effort to alert law enforcement to the presence of sex offenders in communities. To continue to receive certain federal funds, states were required to comply with the guidelines for the registration programs. States had 3 years from the original enactment date of September 13, 1994, to bring their registration programs into compliance with federal standards.

The Wetterling Act originally restricted release and dissemination of registration information but was modified on May 17, 1996, by way of “Megan's Law.” With the enactment of Megan's Law, Congress required states to implement programs to notify members of the public when convicted sex offenders were released into communities. Megan's Law amended the Wetterling Act to provide for release of registration information in accordance with state laws. States were given until September 1997 to pass state versions of Megan's Law, or lose federal aid.

This law was named after Megan Kanka, a 7-yearold girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1994 by a convicted repeat sex offender. Jesse Timmendequas, the man convicted of murdering Megan, had been living across the street from her residence. The girl's death led to a nationwide movement to protect children from sexual predators by notifying communities when such predators are released from incarceration.

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