Megan's Law
Megan's Law is named after a 7-year-old Hamilton Township, New Jersey girl named
Megan Nicole Kanka. On July 29, 1994, she was lured into her neighbor's home with
the promise of a puppy and was brutally raped and murdered by a two-time convicted
sex offender who had been previously convicted in a 1981 attack on a 5-year-old
child and an attempted sexual assault on a 7-year-old.
Eighty-nine days after Megan Kanka's disappearance, New Jersey Governor Christine
Todd Whitman signed the first state-level version of what we know as Megan's Law.
The passage of Megan's Law in New Jersey eventually lead to the May 1996 passage
of a federal law which is also known as Megan's Law. New Jersey's Megan's Law has
specific mandates for active community notification which ensures that the community
will be made aware of the presence of convicted sex offenders posing a risk to public
safety. Under New Jersey's law, if a convicted sex offender is determined to pose
a moderate risk of re-offending then schools and community groups likely to encounter
that offender will be notified. If an offender is determined to pose a high risk
of re-offending, then schools, community groups and members of the public, such
as neighbors likely to encounter the offender, will be notified. New Jersey's state
Megan's Law has specific requirements for active community notification.
New Jersey law authorizes the Division of State Police to make available to the
public over the Internet information about certain sex offenders required to register
under Megan's Law. The sex offender Internet registry law can be found in the New
Jersey Code at 2C:7-12 to -19.
For more information, visit the the New Jersey Sex Offender Internet Registry.