REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS IN THE UNITED STATES

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there are 739,853 registered sex offenders in the United States.  The center, which tracks missing children and helps apprehend those who may have taken them, considers state sex offender registries “our best resource” to tracking down fugitives, says Kristen Anderson, director of case analysis. With sex offender registries likely to keep expanding, legislators are trying to balance the need to protect the public from genuine predators with a growing awareness that many less-serious offenders, including those with no history of sexual crimes, are being swept into the net. But legislators remain reluctant to pass bills that could be seen as helpful to sex offenders, says Mary Sue Molnar, head of Texas Voices, an organization that lobbies for laws that would allow less-serious offenders to petition the courts to have their names removed from public registries.  READ MORE/VIEW MAP HERE