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Pedophiles listed on Net

   August 13, 1998

   BY MARK BROWN COOK COUNTY REPORTER

   A list of convicted child sex offenders living in suburban Cook County
   is now available for public viewing over the Internet, Sheriff Michael
   Sheahan said Wednesday.

   Sheahan's move raised concerns at the American Civil Liberties Union,
   which said putting the list on the Internet could greatly increase the
   potential of vigilantism and mistaken identity by making the public
   information more widely available.

   But Sheahan downplayed such worries, arguing that increased
   circulation of the list is necessary to help parents protect their
   children from ``pedophiles and perverts.''

   The sheriff said he is the first government official in Illinois to
   make the list of registered child sex offenders available by computer.

   Since the Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act went into effect in
   1996, the public has been allowed to visit local police departments to
   obtain the names and addresses of people residing in that town who
   have been convicted of sex offenses involving children.

   Putting the list on the Internet should substantially increase the
   number of people who see it, because relatively few now visit their
   police stations to ask for the list, Sheahan said.

   Asked how he suggests the public use the information, Sheahan said,
   ``As a concerned parent, you would discuss it with your neighbors and
   talk about protecting your children.''

   ``Obviously, we don't encourage anybody to bother these people [on the
   list],'' he added, when questioned about the possibility of vigilante
   actions.

   ACLU spokesman William Spain said sex offender registries have
   contributed to acts of vigilantism elsewhere in the country, ``even
   against people whose names and addresses were on the list by
   mistake.''

   Putting the data on the Internet raises the specter of computer
   hackers and typographical errors, he said.

   ``The concern is that if there is a mistake, a lot more people are
   going to read it'' on the Internet, Spain said.

   The sheriff's office Web site (www.cookcountysheriff.org) includes the
   names of 560 sex offenders.

   Similar steps have been taken by officials in California, Florida and
   Kansas.

   In Chicago, which has 2,750 registered sex offenders, officials had
   chosen to make the list available to the public only at police
   headquarters, 1121 S. State. People viewing the list have been
   prohibited from copying the list or even taking notes, a police
   spokesman said.

   Beginning next week, the list will be available at all district police
   stations, and the curb on note-taking will be lifted. Putting the list
   on the Internet is not being contemplated, the spokesman said.

   Sheriff's offices in DuPage, Will and Lake counties said they have no
   plans to put their sex offender lists on the Internet. Neither does
   the Illinois State Police, which maintains a statewide list.