Florida lawmakers are poised to approve a bill requiring convicted sexual predators to be imprisoned or tracked by satellite for the rest of their lives.
Dedicated to Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old girl murdered last month by a sex offender who confessed to the killing, the bill calls for mandatory sentences of 25 years to life for anyone convicted of molesting children less than 12 years of age.
Convicted sexual predators serving less than a life term would be required to wear tracking monitors linked to global positioning systems until their deaths.
“This is for all our children who have been sexually molested and those who have been murdered,” said Sen. Nancy Argenziano, a Republican and Senate sponsor of the bill.
The bill, a version of which passed the state House Tuesday, also requires convicted sexual offenders to register with local law enforcement officials in person.
In Lunsford’s case, John Evander Couey did not register when he moved near the girl’s home in Homosassa Springs.
Legislature may act within days
Final action by the state Legislature could take place in the next few days as lawmakers respond to another gruesome slaying.
Last weekend, the body of Sarah Lunde, a 13-year-old girl from Ruskin, Fla., was found in a pond. A registered sexual predator who lived nearby and once dated Lunde’s mother has been charged with her death after confessing.
While the legislation would directly affect people convicted after the bill goes into effect, the measure would also require GPS monitoring for already convicted sexual offenders who violate probation.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said he would support the measure if lawmakers set aside money to pay for it. State officials estimated it would cost about $12 million over the next year to monitor more sex offenders. After that, the program would cost more than $7 million a year to operate.
