Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 3132, the Children's Safety Act of 2005. I can think of few offenses more horrifying than sexually assaulting or abusing a child. Children are among our…
Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 3132, the Children's Safety Act of 2005. I can think of few offenses more horrifying than sexually assaulting or abusing a child. Children are among our society's most vulnerable and it's up to us, the adults, to protect them.
We have all heard the tragic stories about young children being kidnaped, assaulted, and too often murdered by sexual offenders who in some cases have been living in the same neighborhoods as these kids. Tragically, many of these offenders have committed multiple crimes against children. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, more than 500,000 sex offenders are registered in the United States and as many as 100,000 sex offenders cannot be located by law enforcement. Statistics from the Bureau of Justice show that child molesters who are released from prison are more likely to be rearrested for child molestation than other sex and non-sex offenders. Approximately 3.3 percent of 4,300 released child molesters in 1994 were rearrested for another sex crime against a child within 3 years. For those who had more than one prior arrest for child molestation, 7.3 percent were likely to be rearrested for the same crime. And 24 percent of released offenders were reconvicted for a new offense, encompassing all types of crimes.
The legislation before us today would accomplish several critical objectives including requiring sex offenders to register more often and for longer periods of time, providing the public with access to more information on sex offenders, creating new penalties, and requiring DNA to be used to identify and prosecute sex offenders. However, I do share the concerns expressed by some of my colleagues regarding the limitations contained in the bill regarding the review of habeas corpus petitions by Federal courts.
I would like to thank Ranking Member Conyers for offering an amendment today that is based on legislation that I have introduced, H.R. 1193, the ``Hate Crime Statistics Improvement Act,'' which would require the Attorney General to collect data about gender-
based hate crimes. With accurate data, local communities can identify gender-based hate crimes in their area and chart their progress toward eliminating them. Moreover, the inclusion of gender will send a strong message that gender-based hate crimes will not be tolerated. It is my understanding that Chairman Sensenbrenner will accept this amendment, and I thank him as well.
We must be diligent in our efforts to protect children from those individuals who would steal their innocence, or worse, take their lives. I am hopeful that this legislation will enhance the efforts already in place so that parents and communities can take the necessary steps to ensure that their children will be safe.
