AUGUSTA – Legislation involving registered sex offenders has become a hot-button issue in Maine because of the combination of federal regulations and high-profile cases, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, said.

Twenty-five bills pertaining to sex crimes have been referred to the state’s Criminal Justice Committee this year, where Diamond is the Senate chairman. Most of them seek to alter the sex offender registry system, set guidelines for prison terms and limit where convicted offenders may live and hang out.

These bills are often put off until the end of the session, Diamond said, so the committee will review the majority of them in the next two weeks.

On Friday, the committee heard three bills, including an amendment to Jessica’s Law, which was enacted last year, establishing a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence to anyone convicted of gross sexual assault against a victim younger than 12.

Rep. Richard Cebra, R-Naples, proposed a bill extending the mandatory minimum sentence for first-time offenders to 25 years, and a life sentence for any repeat offenders under the same guidelines.

After Friday’s hearings, Diamond rattled off a number of cases that have shaken people about sex offender registry. Joseph Tellier had raped and strangled a 10-year-old girl and left her for dead. He served 15 years, and when he was released in 2004, communities rushed to pass ordinances to keep him from their town. On Easter of last year, two registered sex offenders, found on the state’s registry Web site, were gunned down by a man from Canada.

The rush to legislate sex offenses began in 2001 when the federal government passed the act requiring states to make public lists of offenders and their residences, Diamond said.

On Monday, different legislators will present bills governing where sex offenders can live, hang out, who they can have contact with and who should be notified when a sex offender moves to town.

Another long list of related bills, including one to establish a ranking system of registered sex offenders and focus on the most dangerous ones, will be heard the following Monday.

Diamond said some people, when they get out of jail, are not high-risk. There is a big difference between an 18-year-old who has consensual sex with a 15-year-old, and an older person violently raping a child under 12. Yet they currently all have the same classification, he said.

Communities are passing local ordinances limiting where sex offenders can live, and it would be easier to have a uniform law on the state level, Diamond said.

Most bills that pass through committee tend to pass through the full Legislature, Diamond said.

Not all support these bills wholeheartedly.

The Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault works on public policy on behalf of the 10 sexual assault support centers in the state. They support some bills and oppose others. Their top priority is victim safety, said Elizabeth Ward Saxl, executive director.

The coalition generally opposes residency restrictions because the key to decreasing the risk of reoffending is giving offenders access to good homes and good jobs.

“We’re interested in improvements to the sex offender registry,” Saxl said. When an offender moves to town, “It makes it easier for folks to understand what to do.”

Walter F. McKee, attorney and president of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, also opposes many of the bills. Many more people are on the registry than there should be, he said, such as “People that don’t commit crimes against children.”

Residency restrictions force people into outlying areas, where they don’t have access to necessary services, McKee said.

Once someone is convicted and has served their time, there is no one to stand up for their rights, he said

As lawyers, “All we can do is ask for fairness,” McKee said. “They are the lowest part of society.”

Sex crime bills

Sex crime bills scheduled for public hearing Monday. All will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the Criminal Justice Committee room at the Maine State House.

All these bills apply to convicted, registered sex offenders

LD 191: An act to prevent sex offenders whose victim was under age 12 not be allowed contact with children under 14 after conviction

LD 45: An act to create a lifetime restraining order for convicted sex offenders to protect victims

LD 1229: An act to bar sex offenders from hanging around schools

LD 423: An act to establish guidelines as to where an offender can live, and establish restraining orders to protect victims

LD 815: An act to prevent registered sex offenders from living in a municipality without a local police department

LD 147: An act to require probation officers to approve a sex offender’s residence

LD 351: An act requiring municipalities to create safe zones for children, and any offense committed within that zone would receive aggravated sentencing

LD 1491: An act to create child-safe zones, where an offender may not frequent, and also require all high-risk offenders to be electronically monitored

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