Proposed Oklahoma law would tighten restrictions on sex offenders

House Bill 2437 would amend the current law that bans registered sex offenders from loitering within 500 feet from places children frequent, if their prior victims were younger than 13 years old.

The proposed law would place the restriction on all registered sex offenders convicted of hurting a person younger than 18, said state Rep. Josh Cockroft, R-Tecumseh.

Cockroft authored HB 2437, which this week passed the House Judiciary Committee and is on its way to the House floor.

“A pedophile who rapes a 14- or 15-year-old is just as dangerous as one who targets younger children,” Cockroft said. “We should not allow a technicality to give pedophiles access to schools or playgrounds where they can victimize other children.”