Father behind Megan's Law running for office

After their 7-year-old daughter was raped and killed in New Jersey by a convicted sex offender who lived across the street, Richard and Maureen Kanka worked for the creation of Megan's Law, which became a model for sex-offender laws in every state.

Fifteen years later, Richard Kanka has decided to run for office. He is a school-board candidate in Hamilton Township, a Trenton suburb with more than 85,000 residents.

Kanka, whose only other political experience was his election as shop steward in the 1970s, is not leaving his daughter's cause behind. He wants the school district to begin sexual-abuse awareness lessons in kindergarten.

"The preferred age for sex offenders is 6, 7, or 8, and I think the children should be taught before then," said Kanka, 57, a lifelong Hamilton resident who attended schools in the roughly 12,000-student district. "I'd like to look at putting this into the curriculum as soon as possible."

Kanka, now an appointed shop steward in Local 9 of the United Association for plumbers, pipefitters and HVAC technicians, is also president of the Megan Nicole Kanka Foundation. The nonprofit agency, which employs his wife, works to prevent sex abuse, mostly through laws and public education.

A federal law requiring serious sex offenders to register and notify the public of their addresses was passed in 1996. The foundation is trying to get Congress to pass an International Megan's Law that would require foreign sex offenders to register before they can enter the country.

Kanka is one of eight candidates for three seats on the nine-member board. He promised to keep taxes in line and reexamine the budget, but explained: "If cuts are made, I don't want the kids to suffer. I also want to make sure they have a safe environment."