(2017-1173-F) Wetterling Act

The materials in FOIA 2017-1173-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. FOIA 2017-1173-F consists of records concerning the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act. The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act is named in honor of eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling, who was kidnapped by a stranger at gunpoint in 1989, sexually assaulted, and whose death was confirmed when his remains were discovered 27 years later on September 1, 2016. Enacted as part of the 1994 Clinton Crime Bill (also known as the Federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994), the legislation was one of the first federal laws requiring sex offenders to register with their states. It compelled the states to compile registries of offenders found guilty of sexually violent crimes or offenses against children and, at the same time, to formulate stricter registration requirements for sex offenders. Another component of the law mandated that states must also verify the addresses of sex offenders on an annual basis for at least ten years. Furthermore, they must verify the addresses of offenders deemed sexually violent predators every three months for the rest of their lives. States must meet the provisions of the Wetterling Act by September 1997, “with a two-year extension for good faith efforts to achieve compliance.” The penalty for non-compliance would be severe—a 10% reduction of federal block grant funds earmarked for criminal justice. The Wetterling Act gave the states the power to disseminate registration information to the general public, but dissemination was voluntary, not required. However, Congress amended the Wetterling Act by passing Megan’s Law in 1996. Named for seven-year-old Megan Kanka, who was raped and murdered in a high-profile case in July 1994 in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, the act made it mandatory for law enforcement agencies to release information about registered sex offenders that they thought necessary to protect the public at large. This legislation came in the wake of Megan’s death at the hands of Jesse Timmendequas, a registered sex offender with two prior convictions of sex crimes against small children, who lived across the street from the Kankas. Also in 1996 Congress passed the Pam Lyncher Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act. Named for Pam Lyncher, a real estate agent assaulted by a man she believed to be a prospective buyer of a house in Houston in 1990, the bill tackled the issue of sex offenders on a national level. Specifically, it called for the FBI to put together a national database of sex offenders as a way of aiding local enforcement agencies in their attempt to track sex offenders across state lines. Records responsive to 2017-1173-F that are located in WHORM-Subject File-General include correspondence, notes, memoranda, fax cover sheets, faxes, speeches, and speech cards. Correspondence contains letters between governors of the states and President Clinton about compliance with the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act. Clinton urges the governors to comply with the law as quickly as possible. A few of the governors believe they were keeping the public apprised of sex offenders even before the involvement of the Clinton administration in passing appropriate legislation. The speeches and speech cards in the collection concern remarks made by the President at the signing of Megan’s Law on May 17, 1996. The records of Leanne Shimabukuro in the Domestic Policy Council (DPC) contain memoranda, newspaper articles, drafts, talking points, briefings, press releases, correspondence, copies of actual bills and laws, fact sheets, reports, and testimony. In the case of fact sheets, the basic parts of the Jacob Wetterling Act are outlined in detail. There is a key document entitled “The Administration’s Track Record on Protecting Our Communities from Sex Offenders.” The move toward a National Sex Offender Registry plan is set forth in memoranda, questions and answers, and correspondence. In letters between President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno the plan is refined with the FBI playing a prominent role. A memorandum from Dennis Burke of the DPC to Deputy Associate Attorney General Francis M. Allegra deals with the topic of an interim National Sex Offender Registry. Materials in the Automated Records Management System and Tape Restoration Project consist of email correspondence concerning the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act. Email primarily consists of reports and press concerning the Wetterling Act as it relates to other sexual offender legislation (ex. Megan’s Law and the Pam Lyncher Act). Email also consists of correspondence to and from staff at the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Domestic Policy Council pertaining to a draft letter to Michigan Governor John Engler concerning the Wetterling Act.