The U.S. Justice Department opened a new web site that will serve as a national registry of sex offenders that will allow users to look up thousands of offenders throughout 50 states.

The National Sex Offender Public Registry will eventually contain records on an estimated 500,000 registered sex offenders, which are now listed on 50 separate web sites maintained by the states.

Assistant Attorney General Regina Schofield said the national registry contained records from 22 states when it was launched Wednesday. She expects the remaining records to be on the site by the end of the year.

Use of the web site comes with a warning: "Any person who uses information contained in or accessed through this Web site to threaten, intimidate, or harass any individual, including registrants or family members, or who otherwise misuses this information, may be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability under federal and/or state law."

See Also:
National Online Registry of Sex Offenders Launched

More Information:

National Sex Offender Public Registry
This Web site is provided as a public service by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Locate Sex Offenders
Sex offender registry web sites for all 50 states. Not all states list all offenders.