Megan’s Law is a series of legislative actions taken by the New Jersey legislature in 1994 following the rape and murder of seven-year-old Megan Kanka.
She was killed by a neighbor who had prior convictions for sex crimes. Megan’s Law established New Jersey’s sex offender registry, and requires that communities be notified when a sex offender moves into a neighborhood.
In 1996, the US congress passed a version of Megan’s Law legislation giving local law enforcement agencies authorization to notify the public when sex offenders reside, work, or visit in a given community. Each state was directed to develop procedures for this notification process.
All states have since passed a version of Megan’s Law.
In New Jersey, convicted sex offenders are required to notify local police and their community of their address, the crimes they have been convicted of, and what they look like, at the time of their parole or completion of their sentence.
Most have to verify that information on an annual basis; some offenders are required to verify their address every 90 days.
Some offenders are eligible to be removed from registration requirements after 15 years, but for others, the requirement lasts their entire lifetime.
New Jersey applies significant penalties for failing to comply with Megan’s Law.
Understand your rights and responsibilities by calling Matthew Reisig at 732-625-9661 for a free consultation.