Strict North Carolina Sex Offender Laws Take Effect

North Carolina's new sex offender restrictions took effect today, requiring some offenders to remain on the state's registry for 30 years and requiring offenders to stay at least 300 feet from places where children might congregate. From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Stricter new rules governing sex offenders took effect Monday in North Carolina, tripling the number of years that some offenders must remain on the state's registry and requiring them to stay away from places where children normally gather.

The rules require that offenders convicted of certain sex crimes against children or of sexual violence must remain on a state registry for 30 years, up from the previous requirement of 10 years, the Raleigh News & Observer reported. The state's more than 11,000 offenders are required to register in person with the local sheriff within three days of changing addresses, instead of the previous 14-day window.

Offenders also must stay at least 300 feet away from places where children congregate, like day care centers and schools.

One offender said his county's sheriff said he couldn't go to his church because there was a nursery in the building. The newspaper didn't identify the county.

"I started going to that church when I was 12," said Neil Cagle, 61, who served a four-year prison term for taking indecent liberties with a minor.

The new rules were approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mike Easley this year.
Legal experts and one legislator said the new rules are too strict because they don't draw a line between offenders who are likely to commit another offense and those trying to lead clean lives.

"We've cast the net too wide," said state Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, who was the only legislator to vote against the law.

Insko said she will try to get other legislators to understand the problems she sees in the new law.

Jill Rosenblum, a Chapel Hill lawyer who represented a man who committed a sexual offense as a teen, said federal figures show 3.5 percent of offenders would be classified as repeat offenders. She said those people need the closest supervision.

Christi Hurt, a rape crisis counselor, said not all offenders are alike and that some had consensual sex with a person under age 16 while others sexually assaulted an adult.

Rosenblum and Hurt have been working to persuade state officials to redraw restrictions to target people likely to commit more offenses.

"The problem is, the law treats all offenders equally," Hurt said.