Sex offender registry; state vs federal

VIGO CO., Ind. (WTHI) - The Hoosier state is among 35 states that’s lacking strict standards for registered sex offenders, according to federal law.

The federal law for sex offenders or, SORNA Act is more stringent than Indiana's current sex offender registry law.

Vigo County is currently compliant with the state law in keeping sex offenders on the registry anywhere from ten-years to life.

For Vigo County to become compliant with the federal law, requirements would have to change.

Bernard Burns, Special Deputy of Vigo County Sheriff’s Office says, "Changes to meet the federal requirements would have to come through legislation. Currently we are complaint with what we are to do by the state. Some of the federal guide lines have a different system like our classification system; sometimes different time periods for registration like generally are 10 or lifetime. Federal is 15-years or 25 or lifetime."

To comply with SORNA the state of Indiana would need to broaden the definition of sex offenses, raise the minimum number of years an offender stays on the registry and give up some discretion in how it handles juvenile sex offenders.

Burns says until legislation changes requirements Indiana will continue to follow state law.

To see if a sex offender lives near you click on one of the links below:

• INDIANA | Click here to view their site
• ILLINOIS | Click here to view their site