Jesse Timmendequas had been convicted of two other sex offenses toward a child, once in 1979, and again in 1981, both times for assaulting a female child less than seven years of age. After his second conviction, Timmendequas was sentenced to six years in the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Anvel, New Jersey. After he was released from Anvel, he and to other convicted pedophiles moved into a house across the street from the Kankas in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. Megan Kanka

There were a few problems with Megan's Law when it first was established, but some amendments have been made. For example, one amendment that has been made is that if someone is convicted for a second time of a serious offense against a woman or a child, they can be sentenced to life is prison. There has also been an increased sentence for people who are convicted of violent crimes against a minor, a senior citizen, or someone ho is mentally or physically disabled. An amendment that should be made to help cut-down on acts of violence committed against the offenders is to add something about consequences for people who try to get their own revenge on the offenders in their communities. These laws also need to be the same throughout the country, or not everyone will get protected that needs to be.

This crime, and others like it throughout the country, got sex offender notification laws put into effect. These laws are commonly called "Megan's Law", in respect to the death Megan Kanka. Megan's Law says that convicted sex offenders have to register with local law enforcement agencies, and then these agencies release relevant information to the right places, and whenever necessary, to the public. The purpose of these laws is to help protect communities by providing information about convicted sex offenders. With this information cities and towns can take steps to prevent further harm from taking place. In 1994 the anticrime law required that all states' police departments register and track convicted sex offenders, and that the law enforcement agencies notify the each other when an offender moves from one community to the next. This anticrime law allows, but does not require, that law enforcement officials notify the public of high-risk offenders. All states needed to have set up some form of notification laws by September 1997, or the state would lose some of its federal anticrime funds.

In other words, child molesters get to spend three or four extra years roaming your neighborhood-instead of serving out their full jail terms. Forget Megan's Law: Wouldn't Americans feel safer if these criminals were behind bars, instead of living next door?

was seven years old when Timmendequas and his two roommates moved in across the street. Her family had no knowledge of their new neighbors past sexual convictions, at least not until it was too late.

In 1996, most states had laws about registering or tracking released sex offenders, but only 15 of these states require public notification of the location of these offenders. States now have to classify pedophiles on how likely they are to repeat the crimes they have previously committed and how dangerous they are to the community, not just on how severe their original crime was. County prosecutors evaluate the offender to determine his risk level and how dangerous he could be. Some of the things that help the prosecutors determine the risk level are the status of his therapy or counseling, criminal background, degree of remorse for his criminal acts, substance abuse, employment or schooling status, psychological or psychiatric profile, and history of threats or of stalking places where children are. States now have to provide relevant information to the community, depending on the offender's risk level, or tier level. States classify pedophiles in a tier system, which has three classifications. A tier three, or high risk offender, means that law enforcement officials have to notify all the neighbors of the convicted sex offender moving into their neighborhood, as well as community organizations that have to do with children. A tier two, moderate risk offender, means that the law enforcement officials have to notify registered community organizations that involve children or victims of sexual abuse, schools, day care centers, and summer camps. A tier one, low risk offender, registers with local law enforcement agencies, but the public is never notified of

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2960
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)