The D.C. Council held a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would require juveniles as young as 14 to register as sex offenders if they’re convicted of rape. Mayor Vincent Gray introduced the legislation to help bring the District into compliance with a federal law passed in 2006 that threatens to cut local jurisdictions off from some federal dollars if they don’t bear down on sex offenders. The District’s version of the bill would require a juvenile as young as 14 who is convicted of rape to verify his or her location every three months for the rest of his or her life. The convicted youth rapist also would have to routinely update his or her school and place of work with the public registry. If the bill moves forward, it would change portions of city laws that currently protect the confidentiality of criminal youths. – Freeman Klopott
