DATE: Sunday, September 28, 1997            TAG: 9709290250

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   59 lines

STATE LEGISLATORS DEVELOPING VIRGINIA VERSION OF MEGAN'S LAW

Virginians would be able to find out if their neighbor is a convicted sex felon, but many would have to dig a little to get the information, according to the recommendations for a new state law.

Virginia legislators are attempting to hammer out their own version of a law to notify communities when sex offenders move into their neighborhoods.

After meeting for nearly three hours Friday, most members of a task force led by state Sen. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax County, agreed on a two-tier notification system.

The proposal would rate the risk of a new offense based on a convict's criminal history.

For example, an offender who used threats against a victim within the past five years would be classified as a low risk. Release of someone in that category - estimated to be about 10 percent of all sex offenders convicted in Virginia - would trigger notification of the local police department in the community they live in, but no one else.

The second tier would include more serious sex offenders. For those, state officials would notify organizations such as local schools, child-care centers, domestic violence shelters and scouting groups. The groups would be free to tell anyone else.

People would also be able to check on all sex offenders in their neighborhood by checking a list provided by local police departments.

The system would be similar to measures already adopted or considered by more than 40 other states and named after Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl who was abducted, raped and strangled by a twice-convicted sex offender who lived next door.

Virginia's version is still a long way from becoming law. The state Crime Commission is expected to weigh the recommendations next week and then schedule a series of public hearings around the state before the legislature convenes in January.

With both candidates for governor pushing for versions of Megan's law - and with a 1999 federal deadline to get a state law in place - the measure will likely be a high-profile item when the General Assembly meets in January.

The task force tentatively discarded an earlier plan that would have triggered door-to-door notices as well as public hearings to tell neighbors when high-risk sex offenders moved in.

Task force members said such a system could unfairly stigmatize offenders who have served their sentences, create hysteria and possibly encourage vigilante acts.

``I'm opposed to having community notification parties, where we hold up a picture of Joe Pedophile and say, `Joe Pedophile is living down the street,' '' said Deputy Attorney General Frank S. Ferguson. ``I'm real uncomfortable with that. Likewise, I don't want to put fliers on people's doors.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

WHAT'S NEXT

Virginia's version is still a long way from becoming law. The

state Crime Commission is expected to weigh the recommendations next

week and then schedule a series of public hearings around the state

before the legislature convenes in January.

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