District 9 Legislators Push Child Sex Crime Bill with Online Petition

after Galloway Township resident Anna Jezycki questions them about the status of the Jessica Lunsford Act, state Sen. Christopher J. Connors, Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf and Assemblywoman DiAnne C. Gove announced the launch of an online petition drive for “concerned constituents to sign and have a stronger voice in the legislative process.”

The drive centers on the Jessica Lunsford Act, and the online petition is available at district9.senatenj.com/jessicas-law.

The bill concerns 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, of Florida, who was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered by a registered sex offender in 2005. New Jersey is one of the few states that still hasn’t passed the legislation.

The act, also known as Jessica’s Law, would increase penalties for those who commit sex crimes against minors and for those who harbor or conceal a sex offender. Connors, Rumpf and Gove are co-sponsors of pending legislation that would enact the Jessica Lunsford Act in New Jersey. 

The petition also addresses pending legislation that would prohibit convicted sexual offenders from living near schools, playgrounds and child care centers, as well as properly "tier" sex offenders prior to their release from prison. 

Each of these measures were introduced and have been sponsored by the 9th District Delegation for several legislative sessions and, presently, are also awaiting committee action, according to the 9th District Office.

The 9th District Delegation offered the following remarks regarding the petition drive in a release Wednesday afternoon:

“Residents are frustrated with what they see as a lack of action and direction by the Legislature on comprehensive initiatives to more effectively protect our children from potential acts of violence committed by sexual predators. We understand and share this frustration as, for years, our delegation has worked closely with residents, local officials and law enforcement in a united effort to build upon the protections presently offered under Megan’s Law including community notification. 

“As an example, several years ago law enforcement officials advised our delegation about the difficulty in tracking convicted sex offenders, given their transient nature, once they are released from incarceration. A contributing factor to this problem is that, under current law, sex offenders are tiered only after they have been released from prison. A sex offender’s residency situation factors into what tiering they receive. As a practical solution, our delegation introduced legislation that would require sexual offenders to be tiered while still incarcerated. 

“A State Supreme Court decision handed down in 2009 that invalidated several local sexual offender residency ordinances seems to have brought any further action on major policy initiatives concerning sexual offenders to a standstill in the Legislature. Prior to this, several bipartisan bills were passed by the Legislature and enacted into law that included enhancing penalties for sex offenders who provided false addresses when registering as well as satellite monitoring for certain sex offenders. 

“Starting an online petition drive is an effective grass roots means of demonstrating the level of public support or opposition for a specific policy initiative. Moreover, it will allow residents to play a more active role in the legislative process on an issue that is important to so many parents.”

The announcement was made one day after Jezycki went before Galloway Township Council to confirm that council had drafted another letter concerning the pending litigation. There are currently four bills that deal with the act sitting before various committees. The bills have yet to make it out of committee for approval.

“Sen. Connors called me and told me he is on board and he would like to work with me and my committee,” Jezycki told council at its meeting on Tuesday, March 13.

She also said Donald Norcross, the chairman of the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee, contacted her and told her he would be looking over the legislation and would get back to her. One of the bills currently sits before Norcross’ committee.

New Jersey Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney told Jezycki he would post the bill once it made it out of committee, but Galloway Councilman Dennis Kleiner said Sweeney supports the bill with amendments.

A letter was previously sent out to 119 municipalities from Galloway Township addressing the act. At the council meeting on Feb. 28, council agreed to draft another letter to send out to municipalities concerning the subject. On Tuesday night, council confirmed that another letter has been written.