Bill Requiring Sex Offenders To Register Online Usernames Heads To Governor’s Desk

A bill to help parents keep up with who their kids are talking to online is heading to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Metairie Representative Cameron Henry says his bill requires sex offenders to register any email addresses or online user names, as they would with a phone number or address. He says kids are playing online games and talking to strangers on the internet, and this will help parents make sure their children aren’t talking to predators.

“They have to register once a year. He will have to, on the form that he fills out, will have to put any screen names he has, his email address, if he has a static IP address,” Henry said.

The measure passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate, and Governor Edwards is expected to sign the bill. Henry says sex offenders have a whole new way to find victims, thanks to online games and social media sites.

“Where a sex offender maybe used to go to parks and things like that to try to find victims, now they’re literally doing it in your living room through these online games,” Henry said.

Henry says a data base will be established through state police so parents could log into a site or call troopers to see if the person their child is talking to is really a sex offender. He says the penalty for not registering would be the same as not registering a vehicle or new address.