CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue signed a new law this week to close a loophole that allowed some sex offenders to avoid being listed in the state's registry.
[ Click here to see the North Carolina Sex Offender Registry ]
For years, that loophole let out-of-state sex offenders move to North Carolina without registering. The new law requires any sex offender who is still on probation or is required to register in another state to register in North Carolina, as well.
However, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Chipp Bailey said the new law creates new problems.
"That's more that we're going to have to monitor," he said. "[We have to] make sure they're living where they're supposed to live -- not with a certain number of feet from schools."
Bailey said the new law puts the onus on offenders to register and gives law enforcement no new resources to find them.
Rep. Tim Moore, of Shelby, was the chief sponsor of the law and said it provides a powerful incentive to any out-of-state sex offender who's supposed to be on the registry to get on it.
"If they try to duck the system and not register, they're looking at mandatory prison time," Moore said. "At least three years."
Bailey said he thinks the law will lessen but not eliminate unregistered offenders.
"This may narrow the field," he said. "But I don't see it completely going away."