Post by lace on Sept 5, 2006 8:03:35 GMT -5
The Jessica Lunsford Act: One year later
Latest update: Monday, Sep 04, 2006 - 12:43:12 am EDT
In May, a woman was arrested in Citrus County after allegedly admitting to helping a sexual predator elude law enforcement.
Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said the arrest is a direct result of the Jessica Lunsford Act that took effect in Florida a year ago, after the kidnapping and murder of a 9-year-old Homosassa Springs girl.
Dawsy believes the arrest of Brenda Mounce, 51, may have been the first time the portion of the act dealing with people aiding sexual offenders and predators has been used.
Lawmakers included the portion of the law after officials learned that the sexual offender who faces charges because of Jessica’s death had been staying at a house near Jessica’s with three roommates who knew he was not registered to live there.
During the past year, Dawsy believes the Lunsford Act has made communities safer and more aware. However, he reminds people not to get complacent.
While the law establishes a mandatory 25-years-to-life sentence for people convicted of certain sex crimes against children 11 and younger, with a lifetime on an electronic tracking system after they are freed, it only applies to people convicted after Sept. 1, 2005.
The 25-year minimum does not apply to those convicted of molesting older children. Under the new law, those people are monitored electronically only during probation.
The new law requires sexual offenders/predators to report in person twice a year and creates a third-degree felony for failing to register or respond to law enforcement. It also creates a third-degree felony for any person who knows a sexual offender/predator is not complying with registration requirements and withholds information from law enforcement.
One of the major problems Dawsy believes is that the system is dependent on offenders and predators registering.
“We rely on their honesty, and that’s the problem,” Dawsy said.
For example, when the fair came to town this year, the sheriff’s office checked the backgrounds of fair workers. One check revealed a man as an absconder from California, where law enforcement had been searching for him since 1999.
He said there needs to be a distinction in the law among people defined as predators and offenders. The 19-year-old man who has sex with a 16-year-old girl should not be in the same category as the person who violently rapes someone, for example.
The community needs to be aware that while newly convicted predators have to wear global positioning system units, people convicted before last year do not, Dawsy said.
“It’s better than what we had, but my concern is how many bad people are still out there,” Dawsy said.
He said parents need to be aware that predators are now using the Internet to get into homes. While the sheriff’s office has created the Cyber Safety Sexual Predator Unit, parents need to be more aware of what their children do and whom they chat with online.
www.chronicleonline.com/articles/2006/09/04/news/news20.txt
Latest update: Monday, Sep 04, 2006 - 12:43:12 am EDT
In May, a woman was arrested in Citrus County after allegedly admitting to helping a sexual predator elude law enforcement.
Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said the arrest is a direct result of the Jessica Lunsford Act that took effect in Florida a year ago, after the kidnapping and murder of a 9-year-old Homosassa Springs girl.
Dawsy believes the arrest of Brenda Mounce, 51, may have been the first time the portion of the act dealing with people aiding sexual offenders and predators has been used.
Lawmakers included the portion of the law after officials learned that the sexual offender who faces charges because of Jessica’s death had been staying at a house near Jessica’s with three roommates who knew he was not registered to live there.
During the past year, Dawsy believes the Lunsford Act has made communities safer and more aware. However, he reminds people not to get complacent.
While the law establishes a mandatory 25-years-to-life sentence for people convicted of certain sex crimes against children 11 and younger, with a lifetime on an electronic tracking system after they are freed, it only applies to people convicted after Sept. 1, 2005.
The 25-year minimum does not apply to those convicted of molesting older children. Under the new law, those people are monitored electronically only during probation.
The new law requires sexual offenders/predators to report in person twice a year and creates a third-degree felony for failing to register or respond to law enforcement. It also creates a third-degree felony for any person who knows a sexual offender/predator is not complying with registration requirements and withholds information from law enforcement.
One of the major problems Dawsy believes is that the system is dependent on offenders and predators registering.
“We rely on their honesty, and that’s the problem,” Dawsy said.
For example, when the fair came to town this year, the sheriff’s office checked the backgrounds of fair workers. One check revealed a man as an absconder from California, where law enforcement had been searching for him since 1999.
He said there needs to be a distinction in the law among people defined as predators and offenders. The 19-year-old man who has sex with a 16-year-old girl should not be in the same category as the person who violently rapes someone, for example.
The community needs to be aware that while newly convicted predators have to wear global positioning system units, people convicted before last year do not, Dawsy said.
“It’s better than what we had, but my concern is how many bad people are still out there,” Dawsy said.
He said parents need to be aware that predators are now using the Internet to get into homes. While the sheriff’s office has created the Cyber Safety Sexual Predator Unit, parents need to be more aware of what their children do and whom they chat with online.
www.chronicleonline.com/articles/2006/09/04/news/news20.txt