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Carole Mikita ReportingEd Smart understands the emotional roller coaster of having a missing child. He and his daughter, Elizabeth, have worked with members of Congress who want to crack down on child molesters.
Ed Smart gave the Norton family his experience and support last week during the search for Destiny. Today, Congress passed a bill that will toughen sentences and create a national sex offender registry.
25 years ago, six-year-old Adam Walsh was kidnapped and killed. His photo was on the House floor as members of Congress passed "The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act" today. This creates a national online registry for sex offenders.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, (R) Wisconsin: "This legislation would make it crystal clear to offenders; you'd better register, you'd better keep the information current, or you're going to jail."
The bill would keep repeat offenders locked up longer. John Couey, charged with the abduction, rape and murder of Jessica Lunsford in Florida last year, had been convicted in an earlier case involving a teenage girl, but got out of prison early.
Ernie Allen, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: "It sends a message that this is not acceptable and we, as a nation, are going to do something about it."
Elizabeth Smart and her father, Ed, have supported this bill for two years. Elizabeth says she hopes to prevent any child going through what she did when she was kidnapped from her home in 2002.
Ed helped search for Destiny Norton last week and while national registry wouldn't have helped in this case, he says the passage of this bill should serve as a reminder to all parents.
Ed Smart, National Registry for Sex Offenders: "I've talked with a lot of parents that have said, 'you know, I check the sex offender registry regularly.' And that's an important part that I think, as parents, we have to take responsibility for, to know where they are in our neighborhoods, so that our children can know."
This bill forces molesters to give DNA samples. It also give states money to track sex offenders using GPS technology. It creates a 20-year sentence for selling date rape drugs online, or using misleading words to lure children to harmful websites.
