Amie Zyla

Amie Zyla (born 1987) was the focus and main proponent of "Amie's Law", which was passed in her home state of Wisconsin.

History

When Amie Zyla was eight years old, she was sexually assaulted by 14-year-old neighbor Joshua Wade. Wade was convicted of a misdemeanor and sent to a treatment center. He spent the rest of his adolescence at Ethan Allen School in Delafield. He was released when he turned 18, and his criminal record was sealed.

Zyla and Wade were both juveniles at the time of the incident, so local law enforcement had not been made aware that Wade was a convicted sex offender. If they did know, they could not legally share this information with other agencies in areas to which Wade may have moved. Adults who are convicted as sex offenders, after serving their convictions, must register with the local police department and their names are added to a national registry. (See Megan's Law.)

Most states have these records available online so that people may search in their local area for any offenders of whom they may be unaware.

Amie's Law

In January 2005, Amie Zyla, then age 17 and living in Waukesha, Wisconsin, was watching the local news when she saw a report that Wade had been arrested for child molestation. At the time of his second arrest, Wade, then 23, was working at a summer camp. The camp had done a background check which came up clean since his juvenile record had been sealed. He was charged with a total of nine felony counts. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on August 3, 2005.

Zyla and her father contacted State Representative Mark Gundrum, and helped Representative Donald Friske (a former lieutenant deputy for Lincoln County) pass a law named for Zyla. The new law, originally developed by Friske in the 2003-04 legislative session for a similar situation in his legislative district, allows law enforcement officials to release information about juvenile sex offenders if they pose a risk to the public. The law also adds the names of those convicted to a national registry.

On May 2, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle signed the bill into state law at a press conference, which Zyla attended.

On June 9, 2005, Zyla went before Congress to urge them to create similar federal legislation. When testifying before the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, she said, "The simple truth is that juvenile sex offenders turn into adult predators. Kids all over the country need the same kind of protection as in Wisconsin."

ee also

*AMBER Alert
*Megan's Law