Delegates hear calls for more monitoring; O'Malley would list juvenile offenders
Almost every aspect of Maryland's sex offender laws is receiving scrutiny this year as state lawmakers respond to the December killing of 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell on the Eastern Shore at the hands, authorities believe, of a registered child sex offender.
On Tuesday, a panel of delegates reviewed 30 proposals, including a contentious plan backed by Gov. Martin O'Malley that would add juveniles to the state sex offender registry.
Opponents said such a change would unfairly stigmatize young people who are often abuse victims themselves. The same measure would require more information of homeless registrants, something lawmakers have previously rejected.
House Speaker Michael E. Busch made a rare visit to the House Judiciary Committee, a signal that the push to toughen sex offender laws has support from the highest levels of the General Assembly.
"Despite all of our efforts, we have flaws in the system," said Busch, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, telling lawmakers that as the father of an 11-year-old girl, he was particularly moved by the death of Sarah Foxwell. Laws that protect children, he said, are "the ultimate issue of why we're here in office."
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