Since the late 1990s, most Americans have been able to go online and find out if a sex offender was living near them. Sex offenders are required to register in the community where they live. In many states, there are regulations that forbid them from living schools, churches or any place where children gather.
Many sex offenders are escaping this law by traveling abroad where officials don’t know they have been convicted of sex crimes. New Jersey Republican Chris Smith, who serves in the U.S. House of Representatives, introduced the “International Megan’s Law” which would alert international police when sex offenders are entering their country.
Sex offenders are traveling to foreign countries where children are employed as sex workers. According to UNICEF, 30 to 35 percent of sex workers in one Southeast Asian region are 12 to 17 years old. An estimated 1.8 million children worldwide may be involved in the commercial sex trade.
In Cambodia, American Jack Sporich, 75, was arrested after he traveled overseas to engage in sex acts with children. Sporich was imprisoned in California for molesting as many as 500 boys.
Human rights officials say the “International Megan’s Law’ is a good step. But the attitudes toward children involved in the sex trade needs to be changed as well.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1920911,00.html
