Court: Sex offenders can be put on Web
By Maureen Boyle, Enterprise staff writer

In a decision hailed by local officials, the state's highest court ruled Tuesday that the names and photographs of dangerous sex offenders can be posted on the Internet.
The state Supreme Judicial Court found posting information about Level 3 offenders — those considered dangerous and most likely to re-offend — would protect the public and would not violate the rights of convicted offenders.
"The court made a decision that put the safety of the community first," Brockton Police Chief Paul Studenski said. "That was the only way to do it."
The court called posting the information on a state Web site an "apt fit" in today's mobile society.
"Such a sex offender can be in Pittsfield today, Springfield tomorrow, Boston the day after, and elsewhere the next day," the justices wrote. "Offenders may themselves use the Internet to establish contact with future victims."
The state Sex Offender Registry began posting the names and addresses of offenders on its Web site, www.mass.gov/sorb/, today and at least one local department, Raynham, put the name of a Level 3 offender back on its site, www.raynhampd.com, Tuesday night.
The court decision comes after a group of sex offenders challenged the decision to post the information on the state Sex Offender Registry Board Web site, saying it violated their rights.
A lower court ruled the state could post the names, but stayed the order until the SJC weighed in.
While many police departments across the state pulled information about Level 3 offenders off community Web sites, Brockton police refused to follow suit and have kept the information on the department's site, www.brocktonpd.com.
"Everyone stuck with it to do the right thing," said Brockton officer Michael Mather, who coordinates the local sex offender registry.
Keeping the information on the Web site led to the arrest two months ago of a convicted child rapist who failed to re-register with police and failed to appear in court on warrants ranging from restraining order violations to violating probation.
"People saw the information on the Web site and contacted police," Brockton Mayor John T. Yunits Jr. said. "These are the kinds of things that putting the information out there can do."
Brockton police Lt. Wayne Sargo said there have been thousands of hits on the department's Web site since sex offender names and photos were posted.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said getting information to the public is crucial.
"It makes common sense and hopefully it will make people aware of the dangerous people who are out there," Cruz said.
Gov. Mitt Romney said the Sex Offender Registry Board expected to begin posting the information today and hopes to have all of it online by the end of the week.
Romney applauded the court decision, specifically mentioning Alexandra Zapp, a Boston socialite who was killed by a released sex offender at a Bridgewater rest stop two years ago.
"My thoughts today are of course with the families," Romney said. "We owe it to them and the victims of other crimes involving dangerous sexual predators to do everything in our power to provide the public the information they need to protect themselves from these offenders." Police officials in the area praised the high court decision, with some saying they planned to post links to the state Web site from their department sites.
"We plan to do it as quickly as possible," Abington Police Chief David Majenski said. "As both a chief and as a parent ... providing this information is important for the public."
Taunton police were reviewing the SJC ruling and hoped to begin posting the information as soon as possible, Capt. Robert Smith said. Taunton had removed the information as a result of the earlier court case.
Raynham Deputy Police Chief Louis J. Pacheco said he originally removed the name of a Level 3 offender from his department's site under duress. "I'm glad the court agreed the only way to disseminate information in the 21st century is this way. The pedophiles use it all the time. We should be able to use it to keep up with them," he said.
Raynham had pulled the local information off its site three months ago during the court challenges.
Easton Chief Thomas Kominsky called the ruling an important step in public safety.
"The better informed the public, the better off we are all," he said.
In their 7-0 decision, the justices said they disagreed with public defenders who argued on behalf of the sex offenders that posting the information on the Internet would violate their liberty and privacy rights, and could subject them to harassment or even vigilantism.
One defense attorney criticized the SJC decision, saying publicizing the names makes life harder for the offenders.
"I was disappointed with it," said Gerald Noonan, a Brockton attorney who has represented offenders before the Sex Offender Registry board. "It makes it very difficult for someone to move on with his life, his career, his job and his family by posting it."
The SJC, in its decision, noted it weighs the rights of the offenders against the rights of the community.
"We do not live in a utopian society," the justices noted.
The court found people are guaranteed a "significant measure of privacy free from governmental invasion," but "our Constitution also protects the right of our citizens as a whole, and the right of each individual, to be safe and secure from criminal and predatory acts of others."
Yunits said the court's ruling is "a tremendous decision for the rights of the public and a practical decision ... It is a huge victory for public safety.
The Legislature enacted a law in November allowing the information to be posted.
Currently in Massachusetts, there are about 975 sex offenders classified as Level 3 by the state Sex Offender Registry Board out of about 6,800 known sex offenders in the state.
Forty-two states currently publish some information about sex offenders on the Internet, and three other states have legislation pending to do so, Daniel Armagh, director of legal education for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said.
This story contains information from the Associated Press. Maureen Boyle can be reached at mboyle@enterprisenews.com.