Background

On Friday July 29, 1994, 7-year old Megan Nicole Kanka disappeared. With the promise of a puppy, her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas, lured her into his home where he raped, strangled and suffocated her. Her body was stuffed into a plastic toy chest and dumped in a nearby park. Megan had been killed by a two-time registered sex offender who lived across the street from the Kanka home and was sharing his house with two other convicted sex offenders, he met in prison.

That is the incident that led to the federal government to pass legislation about sex offenders reporting their location to police, and that the information would be made public. Megan's Law was enacted on May 17th, 1996. Megan's Law mandates that every state develop a procedure for notifying residents of sex offenders residing there. Each state differs on how they report the information which can be a problem.

You may or may not know how your state gives you that information. Most of the sites provide you with a search by name or location, but almost none give you updates automatically.

One of the important aspects of Megan's Law, is the requirement of convicted sex offenders to notify authorities of their current address. Every time a convicted sex offender moves they are required to notify the local police of their new address. This allows the public to know where the sex offenders live at all times.

What good is all of this if you do not get notified of the change of address. Do you check the registry every day? What can you do?

5 Tips To Keep Kids Safe from Sexual Predators

1. Teach them to avoid strangers.

2. Teach them what types of behavior are inappropriate from adults and peers.

3. Designate safe areas in your neighborhoods and point out potentially dangerous houses, parks or areas.

4. Let your kids know they can talk to you about anything - even sexual abuse.

5. Create a system so that your kids will never take a ride with a stranger claiming to be a friend of the family.

and also...

Teach Your Kids These Important Points

1) Teach Children Key Information. Teach your child(ren) their full name, address, phone number with area code, parents' names and work phone numbers. Practice reciting this information often as children may often forget pertinent information over time. Also practice how to make an emergency call to you or 911 from a pay phone.

2) Teach Children Who is Safe. Children should be taught at an early age what type of "stranger" is okay to ask for help when they are lost or frightened. Good examples are: a mother with children, a counter clerk in a store or a uniformed police officer. Next time you visit a store, practice picking these types of people out with your child(ren).

3) Know Where Your Child is Going. Children should always inform you before they go anywhere. This applies to older children as well since they are equally at risk to abduction by registered child offenders. As you give your older children more freedom, reiterate safety rules with them. As a parent ask the questions: who, what, when, where, why and take the time to follow up on their responses.

4) Teach Children about the Buddy System. Never let your children go anywhere alone. Remind them that there is safety in numbers and they should always use the buddy system, never going anywhere alone. Stress the point that they should avoid situations that might isolate them from others or crowds.

5) Don't let Children be Lured in. Children should be taught not to go near cars or be lured by adults asking for directions, help finding something they lost, that their parents are in trouble and that they will take them to mom or dad. Make sure your child understands that they should always keep a safe difference from strangers and never get close.

6) Develop a Password System. Children can be very trusting of adults, especially adults whom they may be somewhat familiar with. It is critical that you and your child(ren) have a password system. Work out ahead of time an arranged password that any adult whom tries to accompany them must have before they will go anywhere with them. Pick a password that is both easy for your child to remember and something that is not easy for a stranger to determine (don't make a password out of a name or address). Share the password only with your child, family members and trusted friends.

7) Reinforce Safety Skills. Parents should seize opportunities to reinforce safety skills. If an incident occurs in your community, speak frankly about it and use this time to discuss and re-emphasize the safety rules with them. Be sure to comfort them with the fact that there is always someone who can help them. Please visit www.goodknight.org for Government Sponsored Abduction Prevention Materials (books, tapes, DVD videos, & programs). These materials are bilingual (Spanish/English). Some of the safety films were written, created, and directed entirely by children so that other children could learn how to protect themselves from dangerous situations by recognizing the behavior patterns of those who might try to harm them.

1) Always Keep an Up-To-Date Record of Your Child's Information & Discription. In case of an emergency, it is imperative that a readily available, up-to-date record is kept. Records should include a recent photograph, fingerprints, physical attributes and even a DNA sample. The easiest way to keep up-to-date records on your child is with a child ID kit. You can print or download a free Child ID Kit.

2) Know How to Report Your Missing Child.
Time is a very critical factor in abduction cases. Seventy four percent of children who are abducted and murdered are killed within three hours of the abduction. When you can not find your child, you should immediately call your local law enforcement and provide your child's name, date of birth, height, weight, and any distinctive marks such as eyeglasses, braces or scars. Request that your child's information be immediately entered into the National Crime Information Center's Missing Person File. After you have reported your child missing to local law enforcement, call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.

3) Take the Initiative to be Informed.
As a parent, be informed by knowing where the child offenders live in your neighborhood and around your local schools. The National Alert Registry has a wealth of information on registered child offenders all in one place, including photos, addresses, degree of criminal offenses, and distinguishable markings. Visit the National Alert Registry where retrieving this important information is fast and affordable, making it easier for you to.

The National Alert Registry once again pledges its commitment to supporting children by providing parents with the following free 4-step program to help them become prepared, involved, aware, and informed.

Step 1 Being Prepared: The National Alert Registry has developed a free Child Identification Package that may help aid authorities in identifying your child in case of emergency. You can get your Child ID Kits, here.

Step 2 Being Involved: Take a proactive stance in fighting to keep your children safe. Follow our 10 simple rules for protecting your children and teach them to start protecting themselves today. You can find the 10 rules to protect children, here.

Step 3 Being Aware: Make yourself aware of the dangers that exist and the agencies designed to help protect you and your children. To find more about some of these agencies, and what to do if sexual predators are in your area, click here.

Step 4 Being Informed: Run our free Sex Offender search to determine if sexual predators live near you. You can run a free search for registered Sex Offenders in your neighborhood by going to Resgistered Sex Offenders.com.