A report released yesterday stated that Pokémon Go creatures have been found near the homes of convicted sex offenders. Two New York state senators, Diane Savino (D-S.I.) and Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), want something done about it.
According to the report, staffers of the two senators were sent to more than 100 residences of level-2 and level-3 sex offenders. These are people who have been convicted of sexual crimes against children and possession of child pornography.
Pokémon characters appeared near 57 percent of these homes. After other Pokémon-related items such as gyms and PokéStops were counted, something was found in close proximity to 73 percent of the homes visited by the staffers.
As well as the random appearance of Pokémon creatures, people can purchase them to lure others to their area to try and find them. While these characters are mainly bought to attract people to businesses, they could be used by sex offenders to lure children and other potential victims to their homes.
Klein said, he wants a law that will prevent sexual offenders playing Pokémon Go or using any similar app that is likely to appear in the future. He said sex offenders are currently prohibited from using social media so it makes sense to prohibit them from using an app that can be used to lure others “for malicious purposes.”
The proposed law would also require the manufacturer to use the state’s sex offender registry and remove any randomly placed creatures found within 100 feet of the home of a known sex offender.
There are no known instances of sexual predators using the app to lure victims to them. But as Digital Journal previously reported, shortly after Pokémon Go was released, four Missouri teens were arrested on robbery charges. It was alleged they used Pokémon Go to lure unsuspecting teens playing the game to remote places and then robbed them of their phones and other valuables.
No timetable has been given as to when the bill will be introduced.
