National sex-offender registry needed

Revealing predators' names aims to protect children

A nationwide law is needed to allow the release of convicted sex predators' personal information and preventing them from seeking jobs with children, legal experts said after many local cities have attempted to do the same.

A local court in Huai'an city, East China's Jiangsu Province announced that it would post names and personal information of four men online. They were sentenced for sexually assaulting minors on December 1, the Legal Mirror reported on Tuesday.

Convicted sex offenders are prohibited from working in positions where they can have close contact with underage children, such as schools, kindergartens and amusement parks.

The names of convicted sex offender will be made public a month after they are sentenced, according to a report on China Central Television.

The call for a sex-offender registry has sparked heated debate in China, but most experts agree that releasing sex offenders' names and whereabouts would deter them and prevent similar crimes.

The most important impact of revealing personal information of sex offenders is that it would create additonal deterrence, Zong Chunshan, director of the Beijing Youth Legal and Psychological Consultation Service Center, told the Global Times.

Sexual assaults can be a habitual crime and prison sentences don't always prevent convicts from committing similar crimes again, Zong said.

However, experts warned revealing criminals' information might violate their privacy, so a balance between revealing a convict's information and protecting potential victims is required. "The protection of children shall come first before the privacy of sex offenders," said Zong.

Qu Xinjiu, dean of the Criminal Justice School at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times that the information disclosure of sex offenders in China is now only done locally. It is necessary to implement it nationwide as offenders can move from city to city and never be detected.

China's population has a high rate of mobilities so that posting personal information of sex predators online will warn people against these criminals, said Qu.

Zong said most legal experts he knows support the release of information on sex-offenders. "There is a growing voice on the need to better protect and respect children."

Others cities have also tried to seek similar measures to curb criminals and reduce sexual assaults.

In August, the local procuratorate in Minhang district of Shanghai launched a system to limit sex offenders from seeking certain jobs. The judiciary in Cixi city, Zhejiang also began releasing information on sex offenders in June 2016.