ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The House has passed an emergency bill to close a loophole in sex offender law in response to the upcoming release of child molester Clarence Opheim.
The House passed the bill Monday in a 127-1 vote. The state must notify communities when a sex offender moves in, but not if the offender moves into a halfway house. The bill seeks to close this loophole.
Opheim will move soon from the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter to a halfway house in the Twin Cities area. The convicted child molester previously admitted to molesting 29 children but has been deemed fit for release.
The Senate will soon take up an identical bill. Gov. Mark Dayton says he will support the bill. It would go into effect the day after it's signed.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
