Emanuel, Madigan Announce Program to Track Predators

Press Release

Emanuel, Madigan Announce Program to Track Predators

Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde Act Establishes Pilot GPS Tracking Program for Law Enforcement

Today, Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) joined Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to announce the Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde Act. This legislation, named after 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford and 13-year-old Sarah Lunde, would establish a pilot program for the electronic monitoring of sexual predators.

"What we are proposing today is that the law follows these offenders wherever they go," said Emanuel. "Today there are nearly 400,000 registered sex offenders in the United States - that's one offender for every 200 children under 18 years old. As the numbers grow, it's becoming almost impossible for law enforcement to track these offenders. Named after 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford and 13-year-old Sarah Lunde, who were both brutally murdered, this bipartisan legislation will establish a pilot program for the electronic monitoring of sexual predators. Electronic monitoring cannot replace a law enforcement officer monitoring convicted sex predators, but it will provide officials with a valuable tool to protect our children and some peace of mind parents deserve."

A 2003 investigation found that the state of California could not account for 33,000 registered sex offenders. While many may lead normal lives, entirely too many commit another terrible act of sexual predation. Studies indicate that the recidivism rate for child molesters is as high as 12.7%. In the case of Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old from Homosassa, Florida, was abducted from her home, raped and then buried alive by a convicted sex offender who lived 150 feet from her home. Law enforcement officials had lost track of her murderer and were unaware that he worked at her school.

"Electronic monitoring can be a critical component to lifetime supervision of sex offenders," Madigan said. "Technology - combined with highly trained parole and probation agents, effective sex offender treatment and strict sex offender registration laws - will help better protect our children, families and communities from the horrors of sexual assault."

The Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde Act will help protect children by establishing a pilot program allowing the U.S. Attorney General to administer grants to states for electronic monitoring programs of child sex offenders. Similar to programs already underway in some states, the system uses Global Positioning System(GPS) technology to track sexual predators upon their release from prison. GPS tracking of sexual predators will provide law enforcement with the real time location of the offender within 10 feet of their location. The bill authorizes $30 million for this purpose and directs the Attorney General to provide a report to Congress detailing the effectiveness of the program.

The Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde Act is companion legislation to Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) who introduced the Senate version last month. This bipartisan bill currently has eleven cosponsors in the House of Representatives.

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