Sex offenders needing to register under change in law sent letters

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle sent letters Thursday to 23 sex offenders living in the area not currently registered as such in the county, alerting them of a change in the law.

Now, those individuals are required to register as a result of a decision handed down by the Missouri Supreme Court on June 16, according to a news release from Swingle.

The decision from the higher court ruled that even sex offenders with older convictions must register with the county overcoming a constitutional challenge to "Megan's Law," passed in 1995.

Megan's Law required any sex offender convicted since July 1, 1979, to be listed in their county's registry, but a 2006 Supreme Court ruling found that the law violated the provision of the U.S. Constitution guarding against punishment for a crime committed before the law was passed.

The latest Supreme Court decision reversed the course of that ruling, and Swingle said that the 23 sex offenders who received notification must register within 30 days.

The group included two convicted of sodomy, two convicted rapists, and 13 who had committed acts of sexual abuse.

"These are people you would like to know live next door to you," Swingle said.