House, Senate Send Tough Sex Offender Bill to Governor’s Desk

BOSTON, MA –State Rep. John Keenan (D-Salem) announced that the Massachusetts Legislature gave final approval to a bill that virtually eliminates the statute of limitations for bringing child sex abuse charges against sexual predators. In addition to addressing the laws that prevent prosecutions in decades-old abuse cases, the legislation strengthens several measures that regulate the registration, classification and monitoring of convicted sex offenders in the Commonwealth.

“My colleagues and I feel very strongly that we need to do everything in our power to protect children and ensure that sexual predators are brought to justice in Massachusetts,” said Representative Keenan, a member of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee and a former prosecutor. “This bill nearly doubles the time victims have to report instances of abuse and gives law enforcement officials the tools they need to put these perpetrators behind bars where they belong.”

The legislation now before the Governor gives district attorneys the ability to prosecute 27 years after the victim first reports the abuse, or 27 years after the victim turns 16. If independent evidence exists that corroborates the victim’s allegations, prosecutors can bring charges at any time. Additionally the bill ensures that sex offenders are registered prior to being released from prison; mandates lifetime community parole supervision for Level 2 and 3 sex offenders who fail to register; prohibits Level 3 offenders, those considered the most likely to re-offend, from residing in nursing homes; and requires certain Level 2 offenders to wear global positioning system devices while on probation or parole.

“By closing loopholes, increasing penalties and expanding opportunities for prosecutions, this bill will bring about the most comprehensive changes to the state’s sex offender laws since the creation of the sex offender registry more than a decade ago,” said Representative Keenan. “It puts stronger public safety protections in place and effectively puts predators on notice that crimes against children will not be tolerated in Massachusetts.”