Sex Offender Monitoring

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ The South Carolina Supreme Court has found lifetime monitoring violates the constitutional rights for a sex offender found to be at a low risk to abuse a child again. The satellite monitoring for life without a chance to appeal was ordered for 31-year-old Jennifer Dykes after she violated probation on a lewd act on a child charge stemming from her relationship with a 14-year-old girl in Greenville County several years ago. State law requires lifetime monitoring for just two crimes _ lewd act and first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Most other crimes that land someone on the sex offender registry give an offender a chance to appeal after 10 years. A lower court will reconsider Dykes’ punishment. Whether the ruling will affect other sex offenders is unclear.