The Jessica Lunsford Act: One year later
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. http://www.chronicleonline.com/articles/2006/09/04/news/news20.txt

Local lawmakers pleased with act's first year Latest update: Monday, Sep 04, 2006 - 12:43:13 am EDT Two Citrus County legislators say children are safer than they were a year ago with passage of the Jessica Lunsford Act, but they say more can be done. Still, state Rep. Charlie Dean and Sen. Nancy Argenziano differ on proposals that would tweak the act and other laws regarding sexual offenders. The law, named after the Homosassa child authorities say was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered, stiffens criminal penalties for crimes against children and requires extensive background checks on adults who work on school sites. Argenziano, R-Dunnellon, said the act has had a wide-ranging impact. “It’s the toughest law in the nation about locking people up who prey on our children. It’s just long overdue,” she said. “Now the rest of the nation has been adopting Florida’s law.” One area of contention has been the degree of background check needed for people on school sites, particularly those who work in the construction business or repair companies. Argenziano said she would be in favor checking names through a sexual offender or predator registry only so long as those workers on school sites have no contact with children. Other workers with the potential of unsupervised contact with children still should be fingerprinted for criminal backgrounds, she said. Dean, R-Inverness, said the House passed legislation that required all sexual offenders and predators to be identified on their driver’s licenses. He said the bill, which sailed through the House with just one negative vote, didn’t return from the Senate in time for final passage before the legislative session ended. He said anyone who has unsupervised contact with children still would be fingerprinted, but the bill would have simplified the way other workers are identified as predators or offenders. “It was an excellent, excellent choice,” he said. “We couldn’t get the Senate to move on it and get it back on a timely fashion.” Argenziano and Dean also differ about whether the term “sexual offender” should distinguish between people who prey on children and young adults who have consensual sex with teenagers. Argenziano said she doesn’t think it’s fair that a young adult who has consensual sex with a teenage girlfriend be lumped in the same category as someone who improperly touches or fondles a child. It’s especially bothersome when someone checks a Web site to see a recognizable name listed as a sexual offender. “The average person doesn’t look at the difference,” she said. “The average person just thinks he’s a pervert.” Dean said it should be up a judge, and not the Legislature, to decide if someone convicted of a sexual crime is an offender or not. “I think we’ve been doing the right thing to allow judges to make judicial decisions,” he said. Despite their differences, both lawmakers say the Jessica Lunsford Act has done what it should. “I still see Jessie’s face all the time,” Argenziano said. “I cannot believe the horrible way that little child died. This at least lets every child go to bed at night with some feeling that they’re a little safer.” http://www.chronicleonline.com/articles/2006/09/04/news/news40.txt