FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2011
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Senate Endorses Bill to Crack Down on Sexual Predators

(HARRISBURG) --The state Senate today passed legislation cosponsored by Senator John Rafferty (R-Montgomery) to improve the state's efforts to track and prosecute sex offenders, and make Pennsylvania a part of a national sex offender registry.

"Pennsylvania will now be a part of a coordinated and national system for the registration of sexual offenders so that we can better enforce laws and keep our children safe," Senator Rafferty said.  "This bill creates a national registry that law enforcement officers can access and will be available to the public on the Internet.  It also toughens penalties for offenders and ensures that they are more carefully tracked if they move from state to state."

Senator Rafferty said the bill will also close loopholes in current law that have allowed homeless and out-of-state offenders to avoid registering under the state's Megan's Law.

The legislation also:

• Increases the amount of information collected from each offender and requires Pennsylvania to include more information on its Megan's Law website.  In addition, Pennsylvania State Police would be required to communicate registration information with federal, state and local police departments more quickly than they currently do.
• Extends the registration requirement to juvenile offenders who commit rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit these offenses.
• Expands the list of sexually violent offenses subject to the law and groups offenders into multiple classifications, depending on the severity of the offense.
• Recaptures back into Megan's Law offenders with prior convictions for sexual offenses but not currently subject to registration, if the offender re-enters the criminal justice system because of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than one year.

The bill also requires notification to the federal government if the offender intends to travel abroad and requires transient sexual offenders to register and update their registration information,

CONTACT:

John Gentzel
(717) 787-1398