DePasquale targets child predators in new bill
The development of social networking sites such as Facebook has opened up another avenue for child predators to contact children, according to Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York City.
As a result, state law needs to be updated "to structure the laws with the current times," he said.
That's why DePasquale on Tuesday announced legislation that would ban convicted sex offenders from using online social networking sites.
"We need to do the best we can to protect our kids," he said. "And cutting off access to social networking sites for convicted sex offenders will help in that goal."
In addition, DePasquale also introduced new legislation that would prohibit convicted sex offenders from using "computer scrub" software that would remove Internet activity history.
"Not allowing them to scrub the Internet usage makes it easier for law enforcement to track what they're doing," DePasquale said.
Victims of Crime: DePasquale also announced that he intends to reintroduce legislation that would help protect victims of crime.
The legislation would allow a judge to order that a GPS unit be worn by a person against whom a protection from abuse order has been placed.
A protection from abuse order is a civil order that provides a victim of crime the opportunity to seek protection if the alleged assailant is a family member, lives in the same household, or was an intimate partner of the individual seeking protection.
"I want to give judges the ability to require these GPS devices be worn so law enforcement can track if someone gets too close to their victim of crime. It helps law enforcement, and it further protects victims of crime," he said.
What's next: DePasquale said he intends to introduce the convicted sex offender legislation and reintroduce the victims of crime legislation in mid-February through the House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee.
-- Reach John Walk at 505-5439 or jwalk@yorkdispatch.com or follow on Twitter @ydcity.
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