Mother Renews ‘Mark’s Law’ Demand

The mother of a murdered boy has renewed her call for parents to be given information about sex offenders living in their communities. MSPs have rejected a plea by Margaret Ann Cummings for full disclosure on the most dangerous offenders. Her son Mark was murdered two years ago by known sex offender Stuart Leggate, who lived in the same area of Glasgow.

MSPs said those who do not co-operate should be named and have called for new powers for police. Mark’s Law would allow parents to be told if there are registered sex offenders living in their area.

Ms Cummings, from Royston, insisted that her eight-year-old son’s death should result in change and took her case to the Scottish Parliament which set up a sub-committee to look into the issue.

MSPs on the Justice 2 Sub-Committee stopped short of backing full disclosure. Their report said in cases involving the safety of children, police should be able to enter and search the homes of known or registered sex offenders within the immediate area without a warrant. In addition, high-risk sex offenders who refuse to co-operate with police should have their details put on the internet

Ms Cummings said: “The police can handle so much and they can’t handle it all. It’s the ones that are a high risk, the ones that are a danger that we have to help the police with and the authorities to control. It is the most dangerous ones that do change their names, do fit in and slide their way into a community that are the ones we want to know about.”

Such measures could have prevented the death of her son, she added. “I believe if these (measures) had been in place before Mark was murdered, yes it would have stopped it because Leggate would have been still in the jail or he would have been known to the community.”

Labour’s Jackie Baillie, who chaired the Holyrood sub-committee, said there were a number of recommendations in the report which addressed the issues raised by Ms Cummings. She said: “Those who are high risk, we are saying that if their behaviour causes fear or alarm, if they don’t co-operate with the authorities, then they should be named, there should be full public disclosure.

“What we rely on is the agencies like social work, like the police to actually make sure that a sex offender coming back into the community is housed appropriately.”

MSPs also called for it to be made an arrestable offence for sex offenders to use a name that is not registered with the police.