Will sex offender have to pay for old crimes?
Fifteen years have come and gone since he was arrested, pleaded guilty and received five years’ probation for the third-degree sexual offense of trying to solicit sex from a prostitute who was 13 years old. Larry — a name I’ve given him for the purposes of this column — served his probation and took part in weekly group therapy sessions at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Records indicate that he has not committed such a crime — or any crime — since then. “In fact,” he adds, “I would say I’ve lived an exemplary life since then.”
There aren’t many sex offenders going public these days. Larry, who told his story provided I did not use his name, says he “came out of the woodwork” only because of what he (and others) see as election-year hysteria in Annapolis to toughen laws and regulations on sexual offenders, particularly those who victimize children. One of the dozens of measures in the legislature would expand Maryland’s sex offender registry to cover cases from 15 to 25 years ago.

See the full article from “Baltimore Sun”