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MEGAN'S LAW
Megan's Law is named after a 7-year-old Hamilton
Township, New Jersey girl named Megan Nicole Kanka.
On July 29, 1994, she was lured into her neighbor's
home with the promise of a puppy and was brutally
raped and murdered by a two-time convicted sex
offender who had been previously convicted in a 1981
attack on a 5-year-old child and an attempted sexual
assault on a 7-year-old.
Eighty-nine days after Megan Kanka's disappearance,
New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman signed
the first state-level version of what we know as
Megan's Law. The passage of Megan's Law in New
Jersey eventually lead to the May 1996 passage of a
federal law which is also known as Megan's Law. New
Jersey's Megan's Law has specific mandates for
active community notification which ensures that the
community will be made aware of the presence of
convicted sex offenders posing a risk to public
safety. Under New Jersey's law, if a convicted sex
offender is determined to pose a moderate risk of
re-offending then schools and community groups
likely to encounter that offender will be notified.
If an offender is determined to pose a high risk of
re-offending, then schools, community groups and
members of the public, such as neighbors likely to
encounter the offender, will be notified. New
Jersey's state Megan's Law has specific requirements
for active community notification.
New Jersey law authorizes the Division of State
Police to make available to the public over the
Internet information about certain sex offenders
required to register under Megan's Law. The sex
offender Internet registry law can be found in the
New Jersey Code at 2C:7-12 to -19.
For more information, visit the the
New Jersey Sex Offender Internet Registry.
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09.11.2001