Pa. lawmaker wants public to know where sex offenders receive outpatient treatment

    A Bucks County lawmaker wants Pennsylvania residents to know more about the registered sexual offenders in their communities.

    Megan’s Law requires local law enforcement to publicly post information about registered sex offenders. Most commonly, the offender’s name, address, photo, and nature of the crime are made available on free public websites.

    State Rep. Frank Farry wants information to be added about where offenders work and receive treatment.

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    He says it’s about public safety.

    “There’s a fairly high recidivism rate among some of these offenders and I think we need to strike the balance where they can get therapy, but we also have a responsibility to protect the residents of our community,” he said. Farry wants outpatient facilities to notify local law enforcement and government that they’re working with that population.

    A community in Farry’s district was recently surprised to learn that a facility treated sex offenders.

    An official with the Pennsylvania Sexual Offenders Assessment Board, which approves centers, would not provide comment at this time.

    Farry says he hopes to introduce a bill in June.

     

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