Abbott wants online predator registry expanded

AG would add offenders' e-mail address, Web ID
By LISA SANDBERG Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN — Aiming to crack down on cyber-predators, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Wednesday said he wants to expand the state sex offender registry to include e-mail addresses and Internet screen names.

"Parents could check all the e-mail addresses sent to and from their children's computer to find out if their children are communicating with a sex offender," Abbott said. He said his proposal would provide Texans with the "most comprehensive reporting requirements in the country" and said it would provide law enforcement, and ultimately the public, "with new and better tools to track and monitor sex offenders."

In Texas, there are some 53,000 registered sex offenders.

The attorney general's plan would need the Legislature's approval. Abbott said he planned to meet with lawmakers in the coming weeks.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said
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