May 26, 2017
Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul
Laxalt applauded Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson for introducing an
emergency measure in the State Senate to help protect our communities from sex
offenders. The measure draws from Assembly Bill (AB) 59 introduced by the Office
of the Nevada Attorney General to help keep our communities safe by restoring
the authority of the State Board of Parole Commissioners and the Division of
Parole and Probation to impose and enforce conditions upon sex offenders under
lifetime supervision. Breaking from a longstanding tradition of hearing and
passing bills presented by the attorney general and law enforcement, AB 59 was
not given a hearing this session despite widespread support from district
attorneys and law enforcement officials across the State:
“I applaud Senate Minority Leader Michael Roberson for his attempt to take
emergency action on an important public safety matter affecting Nevada’s
communities,” said Attorney General Adam Laxalt. “With widespread statewide
support from district attorneys and law enforcement, it is my hope that
legislators will put politics aside to carefully consider the lasting impact
this measure will have on supervising dangerous members of our communities and
keeping our most vulnerable safe from sexual predators.”
Chris Hicks, the Washoe County District Attorney and President of the Nevada
District Attorneys Association added, “Consideration and passage of Assembly
Bill 59 is critical to ensuring the safety of all Nevadans. In order to
effectively supervise sex offenders, law enforcement must be able to impose
conditions of supervision necessary to ensure that our communities are protected
and the risk of recidivism is reduced.”
The purpose behind imposing conditions upon sex offenders under lifetime
supervision is that certain sex offenders are so inherently dangerous that,
after their prison and subsequent parole sentences have expired, additional
oversight by law enforcement remains necessary to protect the community. Like AB
59, if passed into law, Senator Roberson’s emergency bill would restore law
enforcement’s ability to monitor serious sex offenders who have already been
convicted and sentenced for assault, producing child pornography, incest,
lewdness with a minor, and even murder or kidnapping, if they are found to be
sexually motivated.
In the past, these conditions included consenting to a home search without a
warrant, obtaining prior approval before accepting employment or volunteer work
that might bring them into contact with children, abiding by a curfew,
submitting to drug tests, not using alcohol, not being alone with minors or
around parks and school were minors frequent, and not viewing pornography or
frequenting strip clubs. These conditions were imposed on a case-by-case basis
by the Parole Board and enforced by the Division of Parole and Probation
depending upon the particular sex offender and what factors might lead him or
her to reoffend.
In the July 2016, McNeill v. State case, the Nevada Supreme Court held that
the Parole Board does not have the authority to impose these types of conditions
on sex offenders because they are not specifically set forth in State statute.
After consulting with district attorney’s offices across the State, the Office
of the Nevada Attorney General drafted AB 59.
For more information on AB 59 or to read the bill in its entirety, click
here.
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