Lawmaker works to close sex offender loophole

RALEIGH

Our investigation revealed sex offenders convicted of things like rape and sexually abusing children are living in North Carolina, but they don't appear on the state's sex offender registry.

Click here to read our investigative report

Triangle resident Reem Baloch contacted the I-Team after discovering the father of her child was convicted of a sex offense but doesn't appear on the state registry. Instead, she found him in the national database.

The I-Team then discovered there are 32 sex offenders in our three largest counties - Wake, Durham and Cumberland - who appear on the national registry, but not on the North Carolina registry.

Under state law, sex offenders who were convicted or released from prison before 1996 - and moved to North Carolina before December of 2006 - do not need to register in North Carolina.

Representative Moore has now introduced a bill in the Legislature that would fix the legal loophole. House Bill 726 would require sex offender registration for out of state convictions.

"We need to close that loophole and ensure those folks are required to register," said Moore.

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