Internet paedophiles forced to register 'online nicknames'? » Central Government » 24dash.com

Internet paedophiles could be forced to register all their online nicknames and email addresses with the authorities as part of a new crackdown, it was revealed today.

Home Secretary John Reid said he hoped to bring in new laws which would force child sex perverts to disclose the details as part of a widening of the Sex Offenders Register.

He also ordered work to be carried out on the feasibility of an online alarm system which would notify police every time a convicted paedophile used registered details to log on to an internet chatroom, or any other site which could be used to "groom" victims.

Failure to divulge all email addresses and online aliases could lead to a maximum jail term of five years as a breach of Sex Offenders Register conditions.

Mr Reid said: "We already have probably the toughest regime in Europe for identifying sex offenders, keeping them on a register and protecting our children on the internet.

"But although we are strong, we have to keep ahead of the game and I want to bring in stronger, broader powers to protect our children."

Under present rules, sex offenders must list their name and address on the Sex Offenders Register for a period of years after conviction or even for the rest of their lives.

In today's proposal their online identities would be treated in exactly the same way as their real name, a Home Office spokesman said.

"The Home Secretary also wants to look at whether it is technologically feasible to set up a system where if someone enters a chatroom with an identity that was already listed on the register, it would 'ping' an alert on the relevant people's computers, enabling them to take appropriate action," he added.

Mr Reid is expected to reveal more details during a visit to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) centre later today.

The proposal to force disclosure of email accounts and aliases will require an Act of Parliament.

"This measure will help people like Ceop to monitor the activities of offenders," the spokesman said.

Leading child internet safety expert John Carr of children's charity NCH said: "This is a very welcome move.

"It will mean that we can extend the Sex Offenders Register regime into cyberspace and that will be a great comfort to many people."

Copyright Press Association 2007