States struggle to comply with sex offender database

Mr. Roddel is president of the company, which is a free national Internet search for registered offenders that he created after the 2005 Jessica Lunsford case. The site averages 5 million visitors per month.

“It’s politics. States believe they have the right to decide,” Mr. Roddel said. “Now, they’ll all tell you, ‘We’re working to do our best to balance privacy rights with the public safety requirements that we have.’ … People are not looking for strangers, they’re looking for people they know. Having access to that information is literally lifesaving.”