A push to strengthen Internet-safety laws

Sex offenders would be forced to provide their Internet screen names to New Jersey officials under a package of bills moving through the Legislature.

The bills, part of Attorney General Anne Milgram's Internet-safety initiative, also aim to strengthen the state's "luring and enticing" laws.

Milgram said her office "combats Internet threats by employing an aggressive, multipronged approach ranging from criminal and civil investigations to cooperative efforts with networking sites and service providers to education initiatives aimed at teachers, school administrators, parents and students."

"But as we pursued our initiatives, it became clear that it was essential that our criminal and civil enforcement statutes address evolving threats posed by bad actors online," she said.

If passed, the bills would also toughen penalties on certain sex crimes against minors and broaden the definition of electronic means beyond the Internet, making perverted text messages or any other kind of suggestive communications with children illegal as well.

Jason Laughlin, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, said he believed the bills could help his office combat tech-savvy sexual predators, whose deeds are made easier each day by new technology.

"One of the interesting things about these changes is that they address the problem of computers' not being the only method of doing this. It addresses cell-phone communication, text messaging, things like that," Laughlin said. "It's keeping up with the pace of technology, which is a good thing."

Assemblyman John J. Burzichelli (D., Gloucester), one of the sponsors of the bills - which have cleared the Assembly and now head to the Senate - said he did not expect this to be the last time these laws would have to be updated.

But he said he saw the package as an important move toward keeping New Jersey in step with the slew of new networking capabilities being made available to the public.

"The statutes had to be upgraded, and what we're doing reflects our society at the moment," he said. "The law is an evolving thing - it reflects society, and society is always changing. But protecting children has to come first."