LANSING – If you have been convicted of child pornography or sexual contact with a child, you should not have access to Internet sites children frequent, said Attorney General Mike Cox and a group of Republican legislators Wednesday.

Legislation to be introduced in both the House and the Senate would make it a crime for convicted pedophiles to visit such sites as Facebook and MySpace.

“Let’s assure that every sex offender is banned and not leave it up to the whim of a judge,” Cox said at a press conference announcing the package. Cox is a Republican candidate for the gubernatorial nomination in 2010.

Though the bills would be limited to pedophiles, Cox said he would like to see it expanded to all registered sex offenders. “It’s pretty hard to distinguish between pedophiles and other sex offenders,” he said.

But he also acknowledged the crime, which would carry a five-year, $5,000 felony penalty, would also be difficult to enforce because the sites also allow for some level of anonymity.

The package also would require anyone convicted of trying to initiate contact with a minor for sexual purposes over the Internet to register as a sex offender. Cox and others noted that persons recently arrested by his Internet division would not face registration because they did not actually have contact with a minor.

Those pedophiles with larger stashes of material would also face stiffer sentences under the package. The proposal changes sentencing guidelines to consider the volume of material collected.

“It’s hard to get four to 500 (pictures) if you haven’t had experience with some of the children,” Cox said.

Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would like to start hearings on the bills as soon as the Senate returns to regular sessions. Rep. Tonya Schuitmaker (R-Lawton), sponsor of the House bill regarding the sex offender registry, said she had not been in contact with House leaders and did not know when the legislation would be heard.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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