WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- States would decide whether to include teen sex offenders in public registries under a proposed change to a federal law, U.S. authorities said.
"This change creates a new discretionary, not mandatory, exemption from public website disclosure," said the guidelines for the proposed rule, posted in the Federal Register.
The revised rule pertains to the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which requires juveniles 14 and older who commit serious sex crimes to register for the rest of their lives and states to post that information publicly.
The handling of young sex offenders has been one of the thorniest issues for states trying to implement the act, Linda Baldwin, head of the Justice Department's compliance office, told USA Today in a story published Tuesday.
States that don't implement the law by July 27 risk losing federal crime-fighting funds.
The act was named after 6-year-old Adam Walsh, who was kidnapped in Florida in 1981 and later found dead.
