Man Convicted in Megan's Murder

TRENTON, N.J.--It was a horrendous crime that sparked community notification laws affecting real estate professionals in state after state.

On May 31, a jury convicted a known sex offender of the rape and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka. It was the third time Jesse Timmendequas, who lived across the street from Megan in New Jersey, was found guilty of molesting a child.

Megan's murder led to a national movement to notify communities when sex offenders move in. Megan's Law serves as a model for sex offender disclosure laws across the U.S.

However, its fate is questionable, since opponents of the law have challenged its constitutionality. In New Jersey, which in 1994 became the first state to pass Megan's Law, a federal court has barred the notification of neighbors until constitutional issues are resolved.

"The court stays [prohibiting disclosure] are still in effect, so we're still looking at next spring before we see the impact of it," says Greg DeLozier, state legislative director for the New Jersey Association of REALTORS®.

He says the New Jersey association, the state attorney general's office, and the state real estate commission have agreed on how real estate practitioners should deal with community notification laws in New Jersey. A clause in every residential contract will state that only after settlement are homeowners entitled to know whether a sex offender lives in the neighborhood. He notes, however, that the plan is unofficial until the court rules on the issue.

"The contract clause will say that the information is available from a county prosecutor's office after the closing," DeLozier says. "So it means we [real estate professionals] have no ability to check on it or give out that information."