200 sex offenders added to state registry this year

PORTLAND – Two hundred people convicted of sex crimes before 1999 have come forward since Jan. 1 to register with the state following a significant expansion of the state’s sex offender registry. The addition of the names of 200 people who signed up voluntarily means the registry now contains 682 names, Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Friday.

The state made an appeal in January for offenders to sign up before the law becomes mandatory. The number is expected to grow by 4,000 by the time the changes take effect on Sept. 1, McCausland said.

Over the years, Maine’s sexual offender registry has been expanded. In 1992, the only crime covered by the law was gross sexual assault against a child, but other crimes have been added since then. In 1999, the Legislature approved the biggest expansion of the number of crimes for which someone must register.