A bill that has quietly made its way through the latest legislative session and was signed by the governor earlier this month will help protect families and children in the state from convicted sex offenders.
The bill amends a law requiring that convicted sex offenders be listed on a website maintained by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. With the passage of the amendment the site will include anyone convicted of rape, child molestation or other crimes of child prostitution or sexual exploitation of a child younger than 12, regardless of the assigned level of the offender. Prior to its passage, only Level 2 and 3 offenders were listed.
The levels are assigned based on an assessment that is meant to determine the level of recidivism. Level 3 is the highest level and is considered the highest risk to reoffend. Level 2 is intermediate and Level 1 is considered low risk.
According to Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon, this is one step in an effort to protect children from reoffending sexual predators. The next is to address the assessment itself, which is considered flawed in its methodology as it assesses points based on certain factors and no points on others. For example, if the victim, regardless of age, is a male, then three points are assessed, but if the victim is a female, no points are assessed. One self-reporting question asks the offender if the length of sexual offense history was less than or greater than five years. Less than five years means no points.
Carlyon is part of a group of law enforcement officials, lawmakers and citizen advocates throughout the state who are seeking to change the assessment. “This summer we will be addressing the sex offender assessment and reviewing what other states are using. Our county is leading the way in addressing this issue, with Sheriff KC Clark and Kara Helland also involved in this effort,” said the county attorney.
Helland is a Pinetop resident who pushed the amendment to the website notification during last legislative session, relating how her own experience of learning that her ex-husband had molested a young girl had made her aware of how flawed the system is in protecting children from sexual predators.
Carlyon stated that it may take some time for the website to be updated to include Level 1 offenders. The law will not go into effect until August, and DPS has requested additional time to update its system once it goes into effect.
