Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) announced today that the Office of the Attorney General of South Dakota will receive a $31,331 federal grant to help implement the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The funding comes from the Department of Justice Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking and will be used to help prevent violent crimes against children as well as provide an improved national sex offender registration.
“South Dakota communities are remarkably safe, but we've seen too many tragic examples close to home to think that any community can be immune to crimes against young people,” Johnson said. “This funding will provide the significant resources necessary to increase safety.”
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 establishes more severe penalties for crimes against children and provides the death penalty as a punishment for the most serious crimes. A provision regarding sexually explicit material mandates that a record is kept of pornographers, so that authorities can conduct inspections to ensure children are not repeatedly harmed by people who produce pornography.
The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Program, established by a bill Johnson co-sponsored, requires sex offenders to register prior to their release from prison. It also requires them to check in with law enforcement and update their profile photos. It sets penalties of up to ten years in prison for not complying with the registry rules.
Johnson has fought to safeguard children from sexual predators and create safe places for kids online. He supported the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 as well as Dru’s Law, which created a national Amber Alert system.
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For more information on Senator Tim Johnson visit his website at http://johnson.senate.gov. To contact Senator Johnson’s communications office via e-mail, write his Communications Director at Julianne_Fisher@Johnson.Senate.gov
