Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., announced on Friday that they’ve introduced a bill that would close a loophole that lets people convicted of sex crimes in the military avoid being registered on the National Sex Offender Registry.
The legislation would apply to sex offenders convicted under the Uniform Military Code of Justice. It would require the Defense Department to register offenders with the FBI National Crime Information Center (NCIC) when they’re released from military prison or when they’re convicted, if there’s no prison sentence involved.
Now those convicted of sex crimes in the military justice system must self-report after they are released. A DOD inspector general investigation completed in August found many of them fail to register.
McCaskill, a former sex crimes prosecutor, said the loophole has allowed sex offenders to evade detection when they re-enter society.
A Scripps news story in January found that hundreds of convicted military sex offenders do not appear on the registries.
“The bill I introduced today closes a horrendous gap that currently exists in identifying and tracking known sex offenders – a gap that should have been closed a long time ago,” Burr said in a statement. “Congress should act swiftly to send this legislation to the president’s desk before another predator exploits this loophole and strikes again.”
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