Adam’s Law refers to the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Adam Walsh was a 6-year-old boy who was abducted from a Sears department store in Hollywood, Florida on July 27, 1981 and was later found dead.

On July 27, 1981, Adam and his mother went to a Sears department store. Adam’s mother left him near the videogame section and later returned to find him missing. It was later discovered that a man named Ottis Toole lured Adam into his Cadillac and drove away. Adam’s remains were found by two fishermen in the Vero Beach, Florida, Canal on August 10, 1981.

On July 27, 2006, the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was signed into law. The act was designed to organize sexual offenders into 3 tiers. Each tier is required to update their whereabouts within a certain time frame depending on which tier they belong to.

The act also created a national sexual offender registry that requires states and territories to have identical criteria for posting offender data on the internet.

As of April 2014, the Justice Department reported that 17 states, three territories and 63 tribes have implemented requirements of the Adam Walsh Act.

For more information on the case of Adam Walsh, visit the following websites:

Police: 1981 Killing of Adam Walsh Solved

This Day in History- Adam Walsh is Abducted

Case Closed: Police ID Adam Walsh Killer

To read the Adam Walsh Act, click here