PRECEDENT: Jacob Wetterling
When Jacob Wetterling went missing in 1989 one of the first thoughts police had, was to track down all the local violent sex offenders in the area to see if they could be potential suspects. But this was easier said than done because back then there was no centralized database for this sort of thing. Jacob’s case went unsolved for decades and his mom always wondered if her son fell through the cracks of a system without enough regulation. So, she worked to set a precedent that would require all sex offenders to be registered. Though, she would later go on to regret that work.
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Episode Source Material
- Danny Heinrich confesses to abducting and killing Jacob Wetterling
- Nov. 15, 2015: Paynesville victims recount painful attacks in the years before Wetterling disappeared
- Criminal Complaint from the District of Minnesota
- More Troops Join Search
- A year later, light still on for Jacob
- Sheriff points to many missed chances for quick answers to Jacob Wetterling’s fate
- Danny Heinrich confesses to abducting and killing Jacob Wetterling
- The Scary Backlash of the National Sex Offender Registry: What You Need To Know
- Sex Offender Laws Have Gone Too Far
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