State fails to track sexual offenders

The presence of sex offenders in local communities may go unreported due to incorrect or late notice from the Pennsylvania State Police.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Robert Casey Jr. released an interim report last week criticizing police enforcement of the Pennsylvania Registration of Sexual Offenders Act -- commonly known as Megan's Law.

Between May 2003 and January 2004, there were 17 cases of registered sexual predators moving to a new neighborhood. Casey's report identifies problems with community notification in 13 cases.

In seven cases, incorrect information was reported to local law enforcement.

The errors of the other six were late or ineffective notification. In the case of one Cambria County offender, the report was late by 284 days.

Casey's investigation, which began in May of last year, culminated with the issuing of the interim report. His audit prompted a rebuttal by the State Police and new legislation by the State General Assembly.

A bill was introduced in the General Assembly on Thursday to transfer investigative authority of the matter to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office.

"It seems outrageous and frankly, very political that they're going to strip us of that power," Casey said.

Megan's Law -- named for 7-year-old New Jersey-native Megan Kanka, who was raped and murdered by a convicted sex offender in 1994 -- requires immediate public notification when a "sexually violent predator" moves to a new community.

The legal term "sexually violent predator" applies to a small subset of sex offenders. Roughly 7,000 people living in Pennsylvania have been convicted of a sex-related offense.

Of those, 27 were ruled by psychiatrists and a state judge to be chronically predisposed to sexual violence.

"The Pennsylvania Police has to get this right in every case," Casey said, adding, "They only had to keep track of 17 people."

The Police Department disputes some of Casey's claims but acknowledges that there is room for improvement.

"We say that in every case, notifications were done. Sometimes they were delayed, but they were done," said Jack Lewis, spokesman for the State Police.

"We feel that we can improve our notification process," he added.

In the wake of Casey's audit, the department expanded its Megan's Law reporting team from three people to four.

Lewis also said the department is pushing for an amendment to Megan's Law that would allow courts to contact the State Police directly when a person is ruled a sexual predator. Currently, he said, there is administrative delay.

Casey, too, wants legal change. He called for the identification and tracking of more sexually violent predators by expanding the definition under state law. Maryland has 3,600 sex offenders who are monitored by the police, Casey said.

Though he praised the changes the Police Department has made, Casey said that more must be done.

The State Police "have acknowledged some problems, but they're still in denial" about the degree of notification errors, Casey said.

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