JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES SEVENTH JURISDICTION TO IMPLEMENT
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION ACT

WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice today announced that the U.S. Territory of Guam has substantially implemented the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), Title I of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Guam joins the States of Ohio, Delaware, South Dakota, and Florida, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation as jurisdictions that have substantially implemented SORNA.

"We are pleased to announce that Guam has substantially implemented this important legislation," said Linda Baldwin, Director of the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). "We are committed to working with the remaining states, tribes and territories on their implementation efforts."

Guam has been actively working with the Office of Justice Programs' SMART Office to meet the requirements of SORNA. The SMART Office has added staff, increased outreach efforts, developed resources and issued documents to provide further definition, guidance, and direction to SORNA jurisdictions.

"We are extremely pleased to learn that Guam recently became the seventh jurisdiction nationwide and the first U.S. Territory to substantially implement the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)," said Guam Attorney General Leonardo M. Rapadas. "Our partners, the Guam Legislature, Judiciary, law enforcement, other stakeholders ... worked extremely hard on this important issue to protect our people. Guam will not become a hiding place for convicted sexual offenders and child molesters."

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The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation?s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has seven bureaus and offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Community Capacity Development Office, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information about OJP and its components can be found at https://ojp.gov.