Sex Offender Reform
Senator Brown is the state's leading advocate for reforming the sex offender management system in Massachusetts. He has sponsored a number of bills, and joined with Rep. James Vallee of Franklin to create the Sex Offender Omnibus Bill. The Omnibus Bill brings together many previously proposed measures to create a more comprehensive reform package.
► Reforming the Sex Offender Registration and Classification Process - The Omnibus Bill requires all offenders to register their home address as well as any other address where they stay overnight. Under the legislation, the classification process would begin long before offenders are released from prison, and they are required to register before they are released. The bill establishes an intensive parole system for offenders, and any offender who fails to register or provides false information will be put on lifetime parole.
► Repealing Statue of Limitations for Sexual Abuses - Senator Brown proposes repealing the statute of limitations for sexual abuse. Currently, these crimes can only be prosecuted within a defined timetable, robbing many victims of an opportunity to seek justice through the criminal system. If often takes years for victims to be ready to come forward and speak with authorities. While it is difficult to pursue a case decades after an incident occurs, these victims should still have access to the system and the decision will be left with prosecutors as to whether enough evidence exists to prosecute a perpetrator. Sexual offenders should not be safe from the law simply because a number of years have passed.
► Closing the Youthful Offender Loophole – Currently many offenders under age 18 are slipping through the cracks of the sex offender registration system. Judges currently have the discretion to decide whether or not an offender must register. Too often judges are letting offenders avoid the SORB even when they are found guilty of serious sexual offenses. Senator Brown filed legislation to force all offenders convicted of qualifying sexual offenses to go before the Sex Offender Review Board. This legislation was featured on a Fox 25 News investigative report.