QCOSTARICA – With the intention of protecting minors, a bill proposed by independent legislator Ivonne Acuña will create an updated registry of pedophiles.

The proposal would create the National Registry of Information on Sex Offenders and which would be in charge of the Judicial Power.
With this initiative, judicial and police authorities, as well as public and private institutions in the health and education sectors, would have access to this repository of information of the people with a final sentence and will be valid 50 years after the sentence has been served.
However, the “Law to protect minors from sex offenders” establishes that the identity and other personal data of the victims must be protected.
If the initiative is approved, a period of up to one year will be provided for the creation of the Registro Nacional de Información sobre Personas Ofensoras Sexuales.
Acuña explained that the proposal consists of creating an updated registry of pedophiles to ensure the protection of children and adolescents from sexual offenders.
According to the text, the person convicted (and sentenced) of a sexual offense against minors must declare to the Judicial Registry information such as name, date of birth, sex, height, weight, photograph, identification marks (tattoos, scars), main residence, residence secondary school, place of employment, name, and address of the place of work, telephone number and if they have a vehicle, a description.
Whoever does not present the initial declaration or the update of the information required to register within the established times would be punished with a prison sentence of 6 months to 2 years.
“Our objective is to ensure the higher good and well-being of children, without violating other rights, and, of course, that the use of private information must always be within what the law allows,” said the legislator.
Acuña clarified that they will refine the information that would be requested from pedophiles and that the initiative would be sent to the institutions and organizations involved for consultation.