Juvenile exemption weakness in law

Learning a teenage sex offender tried to register in a local school district may be unnerving to parents. But the more troubling thing is if the teen had been convicted of a sex crime in a Pennsylvania juvenile court instead of Delaware, school officials likely would never have learned about the conviction.

That should give everyone pause. And it should make state lawmakers debate about whether juvenile sexual offenders should be required to register under the state’s Megan’s Law.

William Willey, 18, was taken into custody Tuesday when he was checking on his request to enroll as a senior at Hollidaysburg Area High School. Willey had been convicted in 2005 as a juvenile of second-degree unlawful sexual contact in Delaware.

Because of his conviction, Willey is required to register his address with Delaware State Police as well as local police if he moves out of state.

He was charged Tuesday with failing to register as a sex offender with Pennsylvania State Police.

The Delaware Sex Offender Central Registry last updated Willey’s address in October when he was living in Latrobe.

School and local police officials learned about Willey’s status when senior high assistant principal Brian Keagy ran Willey’s name through a Web site that tracks sex-offender registrations. Keagy did the check after Willey told him he was homeless and had been arrested previously.

Keagy deserves praise for taking the initiative to check out Willey.

But this situation also points out a weakness. If Willey had been convicted as a juvenile in, for example Allentown, instead of Delaware, the public wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn about his sex offender status because he wouldn’t be on our state’s Megan’s Law registry.

That’s an uncomforting thought.

For 13 years, Delaware has required everyone, including juveniles, convicted of certain sexual-related offenses to register their address with police, even if they move out of state.

In Pennsylvania, only adults convicted of sexual offenses must register under Megan’s Law. The only instances in which a juvenile is placed on the Pennsylvania registry is if the offender was convicted in an adult court or if the conviction happened in another state, like Delaware, that does require convicted minors to register with police.

Pennsylvania strives to protect juvenile offenders in hopes of rehabilitating them, even after they turn 18. But at some point the needs of the public have to be factored in.

Do you want school officials in the dark if an 18-year-old who was convicted of a sexual offense as a juvenile wants to enroll in an area high school?

Even if there isn’t a valid reason for denying enrollment, isn’t there a benefit in having school officials aware of a sexual offender’s background?

Are there any students in my child’s school who were convicted of a sexual offense as juveniles? Wouldn’t you like to know? And isn’t it time state lawmakers allowed you to find out?