New Sex Offender Law In Effect

SIDNEY – The Nebraska State Patrol says it has begun to move forward with changes to the sex offender registry designed to make it easier for the public to track offenders. This move comes after a ruling in late December in which a federal judge blocked portions of the state’s law including provisions that sought to monitor convicted sex offenders’ computer usage and prevent them from visiting certain Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

The new law passed by legislature in May 2009 moves the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry toward compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act of 2006 signed by then President George Bush. The law went into effect in Nebraska on Monday.

“Registered offenders will now have to come in to the office in person to update their information,” said Sheriff Darrell Johnson. “They also have to submit DNA and we’ll be taking palm prints.”

Every offender required to register in Nebraska will be posted on the Nebraska State Patrol Sex Offender Registry Web page for public notification purposes. The new law provides the public access to the information about all offenders convicted of a crime which requires registration. Previously, only those classified as Level III offenders – high-risk to reoffend – were posted on the Web site.

Nebraska officials had said the state could lose federal grants for law enforcement if the law had not been changed to publicly register all people convicted of sexual offenses.

The duration of registration under the new law is based solely on the convicted offense. A 15-year registration is required for offenses punishable by less than one year imprisonment, a 25-year registration for offenses punishable by imprisonment greater than one year and lifetime registration is for offenders with prior sex offense convictions, aggravated offense, or lifetime registration required by another jurisdiction.

The new law also increases the number of criminal offenses which mandate registration and will require offenders to provide additional information to the registry. Verification of registry information must be completed in person and more frequently for some offenders than required by the old law, dependent on the offenders’ registration duration.

In late December, Judge Richard Kopf did leave most of the law intact, saying it came close to meeting criteria set for the state by Congress.

Kopf said lawmakers may have gone too far in two areas — both provisions that weren’t required under the federal legislation. Those provisions prohibit sex offenders from using social networking sites used by children, like MySpace and Facebook. They also require sex offenders have hardware or software installed on their computers and other electronic communication devices to monitor their activities and to consent to such searches.

“We’re pleased the court has allowed the vast majority of LB285 and LB97 to move forward,” Attorney General Jon Bruning said after the ruling. “These bills were designed to protect children and today’s ruling is good news for the parents and children of Nebraska.

“We have passed the first hurdle on our efforts to increase the monitoring and supervising those offenders who are still under terms of parole, probation or supervised release,” Bruning said.

The case stemmed from a federal lawsuit filed Dec. 16 on behalf of 20 sex offenders, their relatives and employers. It sought to stop the law from taking effect.

The suing attorney argued the new law would allow for retroactive criminal punishment, amount to double jeopardy, permit unreasonable searches and seizures, and violate the rights to due process and free speech.

Kopf emphasized in his ruling that federal courts have consistently upheld state sex offender registry legislation amid constitutional challenges.

“Bluntly put, I am unwilling to allow this suit to become a backhanded way of neutering (the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act,)” he wrote.

At least 30 states have passed legislation in an effort to comply with the law and many others are studying it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report