A private Web site that maps the known residences of Utah’s registered sex offenders has raised concern that the state may have incorrect addresses for as many as two-thirds of those listed on the registry, reports the Deseret Morning News. That means the state may not know the whereabouts of as many as 5,400 of its roughly 8,200 registered sex offenders. The developer of the site, mapsexoffenders.com, said the Utah Department of Corrections, which maintains the registry, told him Monday about the potentially incorrect information.
The Web site administrator then took it down. A federal statute known as Megan’s Law requires each state to maintain a registry listing the names, addresses and crimes of convicted sex offenders and to notify the public any time the offenders move. The specific information gathered and the way it is disseminated is left up to the individual states. Utah’s handling of the sex offender registry has also raised concern with a national group, Parents for Megan’s Law, that monitors the way states maintain their sex offender registries.
Link: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600149825,00.html