A New Jersey lawmaker is proposing legislation to prevent convicted sex offenders from living near their victims.
Assemblyman Ron Dancer hopes lawmakers will act on his bill in the lame duck session.
“I think this should have priority for the protection of any of these victims so they do not have to think about their molester, their convicted offender, living either next door or within 1,000 feet.”
John Furlong is a criminal defense attorney in Ewing who has represented defendants accused of sex crimes. He says the proposed law isn’t needed because convicted sex offenders are under lifetime supervision in the state and parole officers make sure they don’t live near their victims.
“The problem with the proposed legislation is add an entirely separate layer or the victim’s whereabouts which I suspect the victims have no interest in.”
Dancer says similar legislation has been enacted in five other states.