By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – The names of 373 Missourians removed from the social networking site MySpace were forwarded today by the State Attorney General's office to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The patrol's investigative unit will go through the names to see if any of them are registered sex offenders.
Lt. John Hotz says they'll compare the 373 names with those on the state's sex offender registry.
"Once the identification is made, that information is then turned over to the chief law enforcement officer in the specific county or city where that person resides...I think certainly it is reducing the opportunities for future potential crimes that might be committed," Hotz said.
The State Attorney General's office has turned over the names of more than 1,800 potential sex offenders to the Highway Patrol over the past year.
"We're checking those lists to make certain that there have been no parole violations that have occurred by the individuals who have tried to get up on the social networking sites," Attorney General Chris Koster said.