Oklahoma Senate passes bill to close sex offender loophole

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma lawmakers have approved a bill to close a legal loophole that allows sex offenders to live near their victims.

Senate Bill 1221 passed unanimously Monday and would prohibit an offender from loitering within 1,000 feet of a victim’s home or living within 2,000 feet of them. A similar bill is pending in the House.

Lawmakers have championed the cause of Danyelle Dyer, who exposed the loophole when her uncle who molested her when she was 7 moved in next door. The Associated Press typically doesn’t identify victims of sexual abuse but did so with Dyer’s permission.

Many states prohibit sex offenders from living within a certain distance of a school or day care, but the AP found last year 44 states don’t specifically bar them from living near their victims.