sex offender registry
sex-offender registry. A publicly available list of the names and addresses of sex offenders who have been released from prison. • The registries were started by state statutes known as “Megan’s laws,” named after a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed in 1994 by a released sex offender who lived across the street from her family. The lists are often posted on the Internet, and some states require publication of the offender’s photograph, name, and address in local newspapers. See MEGAN’S LAW.
