Hawai'i struggling with sex-offender law
By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer
A new version of Megan's Law designed to make information available on Hawai'i's 1,900 sex offenders took effect yesterday but their names and where they live may not get into the public's hands until fall — and only after procedures are designed to address the offenders' privacy concerns.
The new law means hundreds of hearings will have to be held in the state civil courts. And the state Public Defender's Office said it is likely the new law will be challenged, which may further complicate listing the information.
The state set up a Web site accessible to the public with the names and addresses of sex offenders after President Clinton signed the federal law in 1996 named after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, who was raped and murdered by a pedophile who lived in her New Jersey neighborhood.
The state site received "thousands and thousands of hits," said Norma Ueno, supervisor of the criminal history record check department at the Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center.
But state officials had to shut down the site in response to a Hawai'i Supreme Court decision 2 1/2 years ago. The court declared the due process rights of the offenders were violated because they did not have a say in whether they should be on the public listing. The ruling was based on an appeal by Eto Bani, who pleaded no contest in 1998 to misdemeanor sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl in Waikiki.
• May 1996: President Clinton signs Megan's Law, requiring every state and the federal government to register anyone convicted of sex crimes against children. • July 1997: The Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center makes available on a state Web site names and information about sex offenders. • November 2001: The Hawai'i Supreme Court rules that Hawai'i's list of sex offenders cannot be made public unless they are given a chance to explain why they should not be on the list. The Web site listing Hawai'i's sex offenders is taken offline. • June 2002: Gov. Ben Cayetano signs a bill into law that says sex offenders must have a due-process hearing before being listed on a public Web site. • May 2003: Gov. Linda Lingle signs another bill into law that says the hearings for sex offenders will be handled by the civil courts and city and county prosecutors will present the requests that the names and streets where they live be made public.
Since then, state officials have been wrestling with ways of dealing with the high court's objections. Last year, the state Legislature passed a law designed to give sex offenders a chance to object to their names and addresses being publicized.
Megan's Law
But Kurt Spohn, state deputy attorney general, said the law was flawed because it did not specify which agency would push for the public listing and it did not specify whether the hearings would be in civil or criminal courts.
"It was apparent to me right from the word 'go' that this law wasn't going to work," Spohn said.
A new law passed this year specified that city and county prosecutors will file petitions to make public offenders' names and streets where they live. And it said the matter would be heard in civil courts.
But before the Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center brings the Web site online, law enforcement, court and judicial officials will have to establish procedures that meet the requirements in the new law, Spohn said.
Spohn said state officials hope to have information about at least a few of the state's sex offenders online in the fall.
Thalia Murphy, supervisor of the Honolulu prosecutor's sex-assault team, said the state will have to find 1,900 sex offenders. "The lion's share of cases, about 1,500, are on this island," Murphy said. "We need to meet and decide how to begin finding these people so they can be served with a petition to come to court."
There are also about 100 additional sex offenders with active court cases that will need to go through the new registry guidelines, Murphy said.
The public register will include pictures of the sex offenders, the streets where they live and work, and information about their cars, including make, model and license numbers. It will also include a summary of criminal offenses against victims who were minors and/or any sexually violent offenses.
Jack Tonaki, the state Public Defender, said it's possible another legal challenge to the law could occur. Defendants who can't afford legal representation at the hearings could argue the new law violates their due-process rights. They could also protest the law's broad evidence requirements, Tonaki said.
Earle A. Partington, a criminal defense lawyer who testified against the adoption of the state's Megan's Law in 1997, said a public registry will hurt public safety by driving sex offenders underground.
"They won't register because of fear that they will be harassed," Partington said. "I've had clients in the past that received anonymous phone calls and had their tires slashed."
But proponents of Megan's Law say in addition to promoting public safety, the release of the information also is healing for victims.
"It's very empowering for victims of violent crime such as sexual assaults to have information about the perpetrator," Murphy said. "Seeing the perpetrator's picture and address posted means a great deal to the victims who have suffered so much and it's an important safeguard for the entire community."
Reach Allison Schaefers at 535-8110 or aschaefers@honoluluadvertiser.com.
