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Legislation Would Restrict Sex Offenders
By Bradley Vasoli, The Bulletin
Yardley — State Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-31st, of Bucks County, and area law-enforcement officials announced his effort to restrict Web use by sex offenders yesterday at the Lower Makefield Township Building.
His bill, which would establish a program called PA e-STOP, would forbid those registered under Megan’s Law who were convicted of using the Internet to commit sexual offenses from accessing the Web for personal use. Convicts who used different modes of communication to commit sexual abuse would have to register their e-mail addresses, IP addresses and any other online identities they possess with the state police. Their membership in any social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or Twitter would require disclosure to the state.
“As the Internet grows and online communities become more popular, sexual predators are free to use this virtually unregulated technology to prey on children and other unsuspecting individuals,” Mr. Santarsiero said. “While parents should monitor their children’s Internet use and the public should be cautious of strangers online, many dangers exist and there are few online limitations for known offenders.”
Under the proposed law, Pennsylvania courts could restrict sex offenders’ use of the Internet at their places of employment and order the convicts to pay for key-logging devices and submit to computer inspections.
MySpace has already undertaken a purge of about 90,000 registered sex offenders over the last two years. But Sentinel SAFE, the company assisting MySpace in ridding the site of abusers has reportedly identified 8,000 Facebook users who may have been removed from MySpace.
The representative said the PA e-STOP proposal constitutes a move toward protecting children from predators, though he said that broader task should remain ongoing in both the public and private spheres.
“This is a step we can take which I think will result in much more security for our kids,” he said, although “parents should never feel that they can step back and not be involved in their kids’ lives.”
Lower Makefield Township Police Chief Kenneth Coluzzi and Newtown Township Police Lieutenant Glenn Forsyth voiced their approval of Mr. Santarsiero’s effort.
“This is a great piece of legislation for our children,” the police chief said. “It just adds another level of safety and security.”
Mr. Santarsiero said he hasn’t become aware of any pockets of opposition to the measure in the General Assembly. Roughly 25 House members from both parties have expressed support for it.
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
His bill, which would establish a program called PA e-STOP, would forbid those registered under Megan’s Law who were convicted of using the Internet to commit sexual offenses from accessing the Web for personal use. Convicts who used different modes of communication to commit sexual abuse would have to register their e-mail addresses, IP addresses and any other online identities they possess with the state police. Their membership in any social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or Twitter would require disclosure to the state.
“As the Internet grows and online communities become more popular, sexual predators are free to use this virtually unregulated technology to prey on children and other unsuspecting individuals,” Mr. Santarsiero said. “While parents should monitor their children’s Internet use and the public should be cautious of strangers online, many dangers exist and there are few online limitations for known offenders.”
Under the proposed law, Pennsylvania courts could restrict sex offenders’ use of the Internet at their places of employment and order the convicts to pay for key-logging devices and submit to computer inspections.
MySpace has already undertaken a purge of about 90,000 registered sex offenders over the last two years. But Sentinel SAFE, the company assisting MySpace in ridding the site of abusers has reportedly identified 8,000 Facebook users who may have been removed from MySpace.
The representative said the PA e-STOP proposal constitutes a move toward protecting children from predators, though he said that broader task should remain ongoing in both the public and private spheres.
“This is a step we can take which I think will result in much more security for our kids,” he said, although “parents should never feel that they can step back and not be involved in their kids’ lives.”
Lower Makefield Township Police Chief Kenneth Coluzzi and Newtown Township Police Lieutenant Glenn Forsyth voiced their approval of Mr. Santarsiero’s effort.
“This is a great piece of legislation for our children,” the police chief said. “It just adds another level of safety and security.”
Mr. Santarsiero said he hasn’t become aware of any pockets of opposition to the measure in the General Assembly. Roughly 25 House members from both parties have expressed support for it.
Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
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