The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Registry came about after the kidnapping and murder of a 22-year-old North Dakota college student named Dru Sjodin. Sjodin disappeared while talking to her boyfriend on her cell phone in a North Dakota Mall parking lot. The video surveillance of the mall on the day of her disappearance shows a level three sex offender named Alfonso Rodriguez, Jr. is at the mall at the same time. Rodriguez is from Minnesota and has failed to register his location with authorities.

A level three offender has the highest risk of reoffending. At that time, North Dakota did not have a sex offender registry. Alfonso Rodriguez served 23 years in prison for a variety of crimes against women. His crimes included rape, kidnapping, and aggravated assault. Rodriguez released from prison only six months earlier.

Dru’s Law, a law that requires convicted sex offender to register on the national Internet database, and failing to register may mean a return to prison. It is a felony for an offender who fails to update their address. This law is in honor of Dru Sjodin’s short but incredibly beautiful life.

The U.S. Department of Justice, is committed to keeping communities safe from sexual predators, and is in charge of running the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry. This internet-based registry is available to all communities. This network, designed, to provide one place for parents, schools, employers, law enforcement and the public to stop in and check for sex offenders in their area.

The registry is easy to use and allows searches for an offender using several areas of information. The search can focus on the offender’s last name, a specific county, city/town, or a series of zip codes. Here is the link to the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Registry.

If you know of a sex offender, who is violating the law and not registering their place of residency as required by law, please contact your local authorities immediately.