Sex crime registry is expanded: Highway patrol puts offenders' ages, searchable maps on Web.

Byline: Janese Heavin

Oct. 24--An expanded online database now lets the public see not only the name and home address of a registered sex offender, but also where the offender works, what he drives and a detailed physical description.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol updated its online sex offender registry as a result of legislation passed earlier this year that allows the public to have more information about those convicted of felony sex offenses.

"It's a great improvement," said Gov. Matt Blunt, who announced the changes yesterday at highway patrol headquarters in Jefferson City. "It's a more powerful tool for Missouri parents. ... I've used the registry myself as a parent."

The new offender registry includes maps that allow viewers to see offenders who live within 1,000 feet to five miles of an address. There's also more information about the offense, including the gender and age of the victim.

Listing the victim's age should help parents differentiate between different types of offenders, Boone County Sheriff's Detective Andrea Luntsford said.

"The guy who has broken into a home and forcibly raped a child is different than the guy who had sex with his high school girlfriend," she said.

Luntsford said she'd like to see Missouri adopt a tiered system that would classify offenders by the nature of their crimes. In other states, sexual predators are considered a level three, while a level-one offender has been convicted of crimes such as consensual statutory rape.

With the state's updated Web site, more parents might discover that offenders live near them. Those who do will have to decide for themselves how to handle that knowledge, Luntsford said. She tells parents to listen to "their little voices."

"I've had calls from parents who are very upset" if they find out an offender has moved into their neighborhoods, Luntsford said. "I tell them to listen to their inner voice. If they want to walk their kid to the bus, do. ... We want folks to be aware and, if they have age-appropriate children, make them aware. We should be vigilant anyway."

Last Halloween, Luntsford said, one Boone County neighborhood posted fliers warning trick-or-treaters not to go to an offender's home. Warning others of an offender's whereabouts is legal as long as the information included is accurate and already public, she said.

More than 10,000 Missourians are on the state's sex offender registry, including 256 Boone County residents and 132 who live in Columbia.

Blunt also announced yesterday a new telephone number that those without Internet access can call to find out if offenders are in their neighborhoods. Highway patrol employees will field phone calls to the toll-free number -- (888) 767-6747 -- between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Copyright (c) 2006, Columbia Daily Tribune, Mo.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

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