“We will post the list of the names in the sex offender registry on the new Web site, with photographs, because the community needs to know who are the sex offenders living in our community,” DPS Commissioner Clyde K. Norita said.
“We have the complete list of sex offenders with their photographs and we expect to see them on our new Web site as soon as we iron out some issues,” he added.
Sex offenders are persons who were convicted of criminal offenses against victims who are minors, or are convicted of sexually violent offenses, sexual offenses, and other charges.
Any person convicted of a sexual crime is required by Public Law 11-104 to register as a sex offender wiht DPS. The law mandates DPS, the Adult Probation Office and the Office of Parole to register and update their records. They are also mandated to keep vital information like photographs and fingerprints and share them with concerned agencies.
Early this month, sex offenders in CNMI were told to update their files pursuant to the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.
This law also makes it a federal offense punishable up to 10 years in prison based upon interstate commerce for sex offenders who have not registered at the jurisdiction they reside and have moved to another state/territory.
DPS said updating the registry of the sex offenders is important because they can easily change addresses, contact numbers, vehicles and employment status due to the size of this island. CNMI has more than 1,000 sex offenders in the registry.
The new DPS Web site, www.dps.gov.mp, was launched early this week to give the community access to all the services of the department.
