The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act

A Potential Double Edge Sword

John Walsh became a household name in the 1980's when he started hosting America's Most Wanted in the wake of the abduction and murder of his seven year old son, Adam. Since that day John Walsh has become a victims rights advocate and helped found the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

On July 28, 2006 President Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (H.R. 4472). The purpose of the bill is to crack down and create stiffer penalties for those convinced of sex crimes, especially those against children. The bill also puts into place a national database of convinced child molesters.

Where I don't think many people would disagree with the spirit and purpose of this bill, once again the politicians have intentionally made at least one part of the bill ambiguous and open to very broad interpretation. Much like the Patriot Act made everyone a potential terrorist and allowed to be wiretapped and have their internet usage monitored, The Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act makes almost everyone a potential child molester.

This is where the problem lies. The law spells out almost to the letter what defines a Tier II and Tier III Sex offender listing things such as kidnapping, prostituting a minor, aggravated sexual abuse, coercion and enticement, sex trafficking, and child pornography. Anyone convicted of these things is punished by at least one year in jail and they have to register and remain registered in the sex offender registry for a minimum of fifteen years, depending on the crime. Personally I find this a great idea. What I am having trouble swallowing though is the purposely vague definition of a Tier I sex offender. H.R. 4472 defines a Tier I sex offender as "a sex offender other than a Tier II or Tier II sex offender". The law has also been changed under H.R. 4472 to expand the definition of sex offender to "a criminal offense that has an element involving a sexual act or sexual contact with another."