Governor urges changes to sex offender statutes

Moorcroft Leader
August 31, 2006

In legislative testimony Thursday, Governor Dave Freudenthal continued his push for stricter sentencing and immediate public identification for all those convicted of sexually assaulting a child.

It was presented at the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee meeting in Cheyenne Thursday by Kip Crofts, formerly of the US Attorney's office and now a senior advisor to the governor.

The governor said he was both pleased and disappointed by the committee's work thus far. In testimony before the same committee in May, Freudenthal urged two particular changes to state statutes: minimum mandatory sentences for those who sexually abuse children and making public via the Internet the identities of sex offenders.

Currently, only those deemed most likely to re-offend are listed on a public Web site. Judiciary Committee members are considering legislation that would list all those convicted of child sexual assault. Such a registry will be required under the recently passed federal Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, which includes the creation of a national sex offender registry that will be available on the Internet. The legislation also calls for stricter prison sentences for offenders who fail to register and keep their information current.

"The public deserves to know whether one of their neighbors has been convicted of a sexual offense regardless of some assessment of future dangerousness," the governor said Thursday. "Judges and psychiatrists do not have a crystal ball predicting future behavior and, if we have to err, I will err on the side of giving the citizens of Wyoming and the public information they need to take steps to protect themselves and their children."

Freudenthal also noted that he was disappointed in the committee's apparent decision not to consider previous legislation that would introduce a minimum mandatory sentence for convicted sex offenders.

³This bill, which provides for life without parole for a second offense of sexually assaulting a child, is a priority for me,² the governor said. "We all know that a first conviction’ for sexually assaulting a child does not equate into a first offense’ of sexually assaulting a child."