Action 3 News - Omaha, Nebraska News, Weather, and Sports | Sex Offender Registry Law Heading To Court
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Omaha, NE - It's a law designed to make it easier for you to find out if a sex offender is living in your neighborhood. But changes to Nebraska's Sex Offender Registry face a legal battle from a group taking action to stop it.
Earlier this year, lawmakers added stricter guidelines for sex offenders to follow. They'll start January 1st unless one group wins in court.
Tough changes that would affect every sex offender on Nebraska's Registry are under fire. More than two dozen unnamed Nebraska residents are suing the state because of the new law. One of them is a level three sex offender, the level most likely to re-offend. He tells Action 3 News, the guidelines will make it hard to live and take care of his children. "You got to draw the line somewhere," said the sex-offender.
Action 3 News is hiding his name and identity. When he was 29-years-old, he had sex with a 15-year-old girl. He claims he didn't know her age. He served several years in jail and is due to get his picture off the sex offender registry in four years, but under the new rules, he says he'll instead be listed for another 25 years. "I decided to take action because I wanted it to be over. So I could get a job, get a house, and live normally," said the sex offender.
The new law will also make it legal for authorities to search sex offenders vehicle, home, and computers, including where they work at any time. Attorney General Jon Bruning believes the changes will protect children and survive any legal challenge. Action 3 News found reaction on the street mixed. "I think as a parent having children, I think it would be a good idea because if they were in my neighborhood, I would want to know," said an Omaha resident. "The level 3 people maybe now have remorse and maybe changed and no one will let them forget that, it marks them for the rest of their life," said an Omaha resident.
A legal decision on whether the changes to the Sex Offender Registry Law is constitutional or not will be made in federal court on Wednesday.
Posted by: Reporter, Erika Summers, esummers@action3news.com
