Advocates want changes to Minnesota’s predatory registry

MINNEAPOLIS – Advocates in Minnesota are pushing state lawmakers to remove most juveniles from the state’s predatory registry, arguing that it makes it difficult for young people to overcome societal barriers.

The state’s Predatory Offender Registry has more than 18,000 names.

Patty Wetterling helped create the registry in 1991 after her 11-year-old son was kidnapped and killed. She and others want state lawmakers to reevaluate the way names get placed on the registry.

Wetterling says children who harm children are different from a grown man hurting children.

Eric Janus, a professor who focuses on the effectiveness of sexual predator laws, says the registry can “really impair successful re-entry” into society.