One of the UK’s leading experts on child abuse, Manchester based Peter Garsden spoke today of how he believes the introduction of Megan’s law into this country is the only way of warning parents where paedophiles are living.

It follows accusations that ministers are guilty of a serious failure after new figures showed more than 60 rapes, murders and other serious crimes were committed by offenders at loose in the community.

These figures show the number of registered sex offenders in England and Wales have increased by more than 3% to just under 30,000. The data revealed a large jump in the number of registered sex offenders who committed further offences by breaching their conditions. There was a 30% leap in the number charged or cautioned, up to nearly 1,300 from just 990 last year.

Peter Garsden, whose company represents child abuse victims across the UK, said “the rise in the re-offending rates of paedophiles leads me to believe that the introduction of Megan’s Law into this country is the only way of warning parents where paedophiles are living. I am calling on the government to change the law.“

Megan’s law is a US federal law passed in 1996 that authorises local law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living, working or visiting their communities. The law was inspired by the case of seven-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who moved across the street from the family. The New Jersey legislature passed Megan’s Law in 1994. There has been a campaign in the UK to introduce ’Sarah’s Law’ after the killing of 8-year-old schoolgirl Sarah Payne in July 2000. Whilst there have been new pieces of legislation to protect children no such law has yet been introduced.