Key members of Congress have agreed on a bill that would create the first national Internet database and laws designed to improve the tracking of convicted sex offenders, reports USA Today. The bill aims to help police locate more than 100,000 offenders who are registered but haven’t updated their whereabouts. About 563,000 sex offenders are registered nationwide. A compromise bill would increase minimum sentences for molesters who cross state lines and allow the death penalty for those who murder child victims. It would increase the number of investigators and prosecutors fighting child pornography.
The bill might be passed by next Monday and signed July 27, the 25th anniversary of the abduction of 6-year-old Adam Walsh, son of America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh. “This is the most important child protection legislation in a quarter-century,” says Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/legislative/2006-07-19-sex-crimes-bill_x.htm