About Megans Law And
Registered Sex Offenders

This site is about Megan's Law (aka Megans Law), which along with the Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act and the Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act, has been instrumental in getting states to disclose information about registered sex offenders.

Megan's Law

Megan's Law, signed in 1996 by President Clinton, allows states discretion in establishing criteria for disclosure, but compels them to make private and personal information on registered sex offenders available to the public. It is deemed that such public notification:

1. assists law enforcement in investigations,
2. establishes legal grounds to hold known offenders,
3. deters sex offenders from committing new offenses and
4. offers citizens information they can use to protect children from victimization.

The Megan Kanka Story In July 1994, 7-year-old Megan Kanka accepted an invitation from a neighbor in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, to see his new puppy. The neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, was a twice-convicted pedophile. He raped her, murdered her, and dumped her body in a nearby park. Megan's parents said that they never would have allowed her to travel the neighborhood freely if they had known that a convicted sex offender was living across the street. Megan's Law (aka Megans Law) was later enacted in an effort to provide community notification. [Source: FAQ About Megans Law]

Wetterling Act

The Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, passed by Congress in 1994, requires states to register individuals convicted of sex crimes against children. Sex offender registration laws are deemed necessary because:

1. sex offenders pose a high risk of re-offending after release from custody,
2. protecting the public from sex offenders is a primary governmental interest,
3. the privacy interests of persons convicted of sex offenses are less important than the government's interest in public safety and
4. release of certain information about sex offenders to public agencies and the general public will assist in protecting the public safety.

The Jacob Wetterling Story In 1989, Jacob Wetterling, 11, his brother Trevor, 10, and a friend, Aaron, 11, were riding their bikes while returning home from a convenience store in St. Joseph, Minnesota. A masked man came out of a driveway and ordered the boys to throw their bikes into a ditch, turn off their flashlights, and lie face down on the ground. The gunman asked each of the boys his age. They responded. He told Trevor to run into the woods and not to look back, or he would shoot him. Next, the gunman turned Aaron over, looked at his face, and told him to run into the woods. As Trevor and Aaron ran away, they glanced back to see the gunman grab Jacob's arm. When Aaron and Trevor reached the wooded area, they turned to find that Jacob and the gunman were gone. Jacob has never been found. On October 22, 1989, friends and strangers rallied to the family's aid and worked 24 hours each day to search the area and distribute flyers across the country. Investigators later learned that, unknown to local law enforcement, halfway houses in St. Joseph housed sex offenders after their release from prison. Jacob's mother, Patty, became an advocate for missing children and was appointed to a Governor's Task Force that recommended stronger sex offender registration requirements in Minnesota. Later, as for Megans Law, the U.S. Congress passed the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act in Jacob's honor. [Source: FAQ About Megans Law]

Lychner Act

The Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act, passed by Congress in 1996, provides for a national database to track sex offenders.

The Pam Lychner Story Houston real estate agent Pam Lychner prepared to show a vacant home to a prospective buyer. Awaiting her at the house was a twice-convicted felon who brutally assaulted her. Her husband arrived and saved her life. She then formed "Justice for All," a victims rights advocacy group that lobbies for tougher sentences for violent criminals. U.S. Senators Gramm and Biden credited Lychner with helping craft the language of a bill that established a national database to track sex offenders. Lychner and her two daughters were killed in the explosion of TWA Flight 800 off the coast of Long Island in July 1996. Later that year, as for Megans Law, Congress passed the Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996 in her memory. [Source: FAQ About Megans Law]

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