OHIO Legislation targets regulations of sex offenders

Not everyone agrees with one of the bills.
By MICHELE C. HLADIK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Convicted Ohio sex offenders face increased registration regulations and fees, while some think they are being unfairly targeted.
"We're really looking at toughening things up on sex offenders," said Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, chairman of the Ohio House's Criminal Justice Committee.
At least four pieces of legislation regulating sexual offenders were introduced earlier this year. Two were recently combined and passed by the Legislature and await Gov. Bob Taft's signature.
The recent influx of legislation dealing with sex offenders is the result of the abduction and murder of Wayne County teen Kristen Jackson.
According to Latta, the state would have lost some federal funding if it failed to improve its regulations by this month.
About legislation
Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Jacobson, R- Phillipsburg, makes sweeping changes, including requiring all who commit an offense against a child or are considered repeat sexual offenders to register for life with the sheriff in the county in which they reside.
Included are increased registration fees a sheriff may charge and provisions for those who cannot afford those fees, amendments sponsored by Sen. Kevin Coughlin, R-Cuyahoga Falls.
Latta said the bill was also amended to allow certain sex offenders to petition a court to be removed from notification requirements after 20 years.
The bill provides a system for law enforcement to check on sex offenders and requires the attorney general's office to set up a sex offender database on the Internet.
Another view
Not everyone agrees the bill is necessary.
According to Barry Wilford, legislative director for the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Ohio's sex offender laws are the most amended in the United States. He said it seems there are changes made to the laws every year.
"This legislation is all about getting the federal money and they used Kristen's case to make it happen," he said.
According to lawmakers, the state has been missing out on federal funds and will receive those funds once the changes are enacted.
Wilford said the bill is excessive and intrusive and will have a negative effect on the person's ability to go to school or hold a job.
Continued punishment?
Raymond Vasvari, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said his group also opposes the legislation because it constitutes an ongoing form of punishment.
"There's an unhealthy obsession with sex offenders. It's a way of showing you are tough on crime. Sex offenders have no friends [in the Legislature]."
The Legislature is also considering legislation sponsored by state Rep. Jim Carmichael, a Wooster Republican who would require sheriffs to notify residents when anyone who has been convicted or pleaded guilty to rape moves within 1,000 feet of their homes.
Carmichael's bill was approved earlier this year by the House and is in the Senate's Judiciary on Criminal Justice Committee.