Sexual predators are out hunting for our kids. Are the current laws of Minnesota enough to protect them?

Recently, Ramsey County prosecutors are seeking a life sentence with no chance of parole for a St. Paul man indicted on charges that he had sex with two children and recorded it with images and video. Dan Patrick Manley, 44, was indicted on six counts involving sex with a then-14-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl. The repeated incidents allegedly occurred about three years ago. When police searched Manley’s home, they found a disk drive containing child pornography and photos of him having sex with children. Manley has had two previous convictions for criminal sexual conduct with children dating back to 1984 and 1987.

In 2005, Jessica’s Law passed in several states, but not in Minnesota. This law designates sexual predators and others who have committed specific sex crimes to constant monitoring via a global positioning system. It also imposes a mandatory 25-year prison sentence.

In 2005, Minnesota passed a law requiring monitoring of sexual predators for life including GPS monitoring, but falls short of imprisoning first time offenders for 25 years. However, the law does mandate a life sentence for certain crimes.

Did this law finally catch up with a repeat offender like Dan Manley? If so, how many other children did he abuse? How many more children have to wait until “certain crimes” from a predator is considered a life-sentence? Minnesota needs stricter laws and mandated sentences to help protect our kids.