BY CHRISTOPHER YATES
STAFF WRITER
THE CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE
RICHMOND – Sex offenders will have to register their email-addresses and
instant messenger screen names under legislation unanimously approved by the state Senate last week.
Supporters say Virginia is the first state in the country to introduce such legislation. Sen. Ryan T. McDougle, R-Mechanicsville, is the chief patron of the bill, SB
1071, "This changes the way we define child predators and punishment," McDougle said. "It will help prevent sex offenders from getting to our children."
Although the original bill included only e-mail, it was broadened to include instant messaging in order to encompass the evolving nature of the internet.
"If you are a sex offender and do not register and are found online," McDougle said, "you will be guilty of a new crime."
According to McDougle, MySpace.com agreed to delete accounts of sex offenders so that they could not be given the opportunity to be put into a position to interact with children.
Sexual predators have been getting a great deal of media attention. The attention,
McDougle says, has helped gain support for the electronic registry.
As the internet grows in popularity, the amount of crimes is also increasing. As a prosecutor in the 1990s, McDougle said that he saw the beginnings of crimes against juveniles on the internet but that they were hard to prosecute. With new laws such as the sex offender electronic registry, the law is catching up to the predators.
"Being able to track IMs and chat names will be very useful," he said.
Del. Robert J. Wittman, R-Montross, said that it is important to protect citizens by not putting sex offenders back into situations where there is concern.
"It is important to take a strong step by putting controls in place," Wittman said.
Creating new laws governing the internet has been growing over the past several years. Wittman said that the General Assembly puts measures in place in order to see how they will work.
"If issues arise with these new measures, legislation will follow," Wittman said.
"We must evaluate effectiveness and see if additional controls are necessary."
According to Wittman, the legislation will make the public aware of the ongoing fight against sex predators as well as not allow sex offenders where they might offend again.
Other bills have been introduced regarding sex offenders during the current General Assembly session. These include not allowing sex offenders on school grounds except for special circumstances and clarifying offenses for which an offender must be registered.