HUMAN TRAFFICKING SEEN AS THREAT WITHIN NATION'S BORDERS, CONFERENCE ATTENDEES TOLD

By Melanie Hunter
CNSNews.com Senior Editor
November 22, 2005

(CNSNews.com) - The host of "America's Most Wanted," a national television show credited with the apprehension and recovery of hundreds of fugitives and 41 missing kids, is calling on Congress to pass sex offender legislation before the end of the year.

H.R. 3132 and S. 1086, if approved by Congress would close the loopholes in the current system which allows sex offenders to evade law enforcement and continue to prey on kids. There are 550,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., and at least 100,000 are missing from the system.

John Walsh, co-founder and national spokesperson for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children whose own son was killed in 1981, said sex offender legislation is critical to strengthen the law to protect children from predators by creating a comprehensive national system to register sex offenders and notify the community.

"How many more children and other victims need to suffer before our elected officials do the right thing and pass this legislation," said Walsh, host of AMW.

"Enough is enough. We see what these predators do and we know how easily they disappear. Congress needs to act now and pass legislation immediately. They owe it to Carlie Brucia, Jessica Lunsford, Shasta Groene and all the other precious children who were abducted, abused and murdered by repeat sex offenders."

"We can't wait another week, another month, and another year, for this legislation to become law. Statistics from the U.S. Justice Department show that 67 percent of reported sexual assault victims are children," said Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

"This is powerful testimony to the fact that children are at risk and we must do something to stop it. Passing this legislation, this year will be a step forward in helping to reduce that risk," added Allen.

The sex offender legislation H.R. 3132 is sponsored in the House by Congressmen James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) and Mark Foley (R-Fla.) and S. 1086 is sponsored in the Senate by Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Joseph Biden (D-Del.), and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).

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