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HomeNewsArchivesV.I. Government Is Still Allowing Registered Sex Offenders to Remain Anonymous

V.I. Government Is Still Allowing Registered Sex Offenders to Remain Anonymous

The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children And Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act passed on 9-13-94. The territory has received federal funding since 1994 for a mandated public online access to registered sexual offenders. The entire act/bill can be viewed on the
U.S. Department of Justice website
.
The SOURCE published an article in May of 2001 outlining a passed bill allowing (passed at the eleventh hour by the 22nd legislature) the online site and keep the federal money flowing for site maintenance. The link to the article can be accessed here.
Bottom line is the USVI received federal funds for the ENTIRE project and already were three years in arrears in enacting the list but managed to jam a bill through for more federal funds that may have been lost going forward. As of today, we still don't have an online list.
We have a pattern of receiving government funding under the disguise we are actually using the funds for what the funding was intended or actually doing the project the funding was intended for. This is another example. Does the Department of Justice ask for proof of completed federal funding projects and continued federal money for maintenance of the project? Maybe they should, and according to the verbiage in the Jacob Wetterling Act, refund from the project (give back money to the federal government) 10 percent of all money received since 1997 since we are in non-compliance of receiving funding as outlined in the act itself.
It would seem a project with an act passed in September 1994, and mandated completion September 1997 to avoid losing federal funding, would be completed 10 years later. Especially since a bill was passed mandating such. None of our elected officials seem to believe the online registered sex offender list is a priority, despite repeated sexual attacks on our youth, including rape and molestation by repeat offenders.
Sen. Davis did submit a bill of unknown depth on January 8, 2007 as a response to Turnbull releasing and pardoning 37 individuals of whom some were murderers, sexual predators and rapists back into our society in his last day of office.
Calls and e-mails have been made to Sen. Davis without a reply as to what his 'proposed' new legislation encompasses. Is he unaware we already have a bill passed in the 22nd legislature for a public online site?
The sexual registration online site needs public accessibility and not only availability to our police (this is one option we have been told may be available), at 'specified locations for public purview', or not available because 'our convicted offenders' need 'protection and rehabilitation' and subjection to ' the public' would not be beneficial to 'their recovery'. The public needs to know where the registered sexual offenders live, period.
We were promised an open and transparent government during all those campaign speeches by our elected officials. Who are we protecting if not the women and children of our society? One can only perceive our elected officials are once again preventing open information (and protecting predators living among us) for our safety and well-being along with misused and/or misappropriated federal funding.
Who is on the list and why is it not public knowledge? Ignorance is bliss among our elected officials and this at a very high price for safety of our citizens. I encourage everyone to e-mail the Department of Justice on the above DOJ link and voice your outrage at yet another federally funded project not functioning as was intended.

Jill Lange, St. Croix

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