PAST ARTICLES AND EDITORIAL BOARDS An Ineffective Weapon in the Fight Against Child Sexual Abuse:
New Jersey's Megan's Law
Jenny A. Montana
3 J.L. & Pol'y 569 (1995)
On July 29, 1994, Jesse Timmendequas sexually assaulted and murdered seven-year-old Megan Kanka. Megan Kanka's death outraged community members, especially upon discovering that Jesse Timmendequas was a twice convicted sex offender living anonymously within their community. The circumstances surrounding Megan Kanka's death and similar incidents prompted New Jersey citizens to launch a campaign for legislation that would require authorities to notify community members when a convicted sex offender moved into their community. In memory of Megan, her family and friends coined the legislation "Megan's Law". Although many New Jersey citizens believe that public notification laws will prevent sex offenders from reoffending in their community, thus creating a safer environment for their children, community notification laws, such as Megan's Law, neither prevent incidents of child sexual abuse nor make communities safer. Rather than preventing incidents of child sexual abuse, community notification laws create adverse consequences that undermine efforts to deter convicted sex offenders from reoffending. In addition, Megan's Law is replete with weaknesses that undermine the law's ability to achieve the goal that community members and legislators proposed. Only when the state offers sex offenders adequate treatment and supervision and parents take responsibility for their children's safety will New Jersey begin to win the war against child sexual abuse.