2020 Maryland Sex Offender Registry

Gaithersburg has 82 registered sex offenders living in town, according to the Maryland Sex Offender Registry. To view a full list of the accused residents, their convictions and their addresses, head to this link.

Maryland Sex Offenders Law divides convicted sex offenders in the state into three tiers. Tier I offenders register for 15 years and must verify their registration every six months. Tier II offenders register for 25 years and must confirm their registration every six months. Tier III offenders register for life and verify their registration every three months.

Law enforcement officials and researchers caution that the registries play a limited role in preventing child sexual abuse and stress that most perpetrators are known to the child.

The U.S. Department of Justice, which oversees the National Sex Offender Public Website, estimates that only about 10 percent of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are strangers to the child.

The Justice Department estimates 60 percent of perpetrators are known to the child but are not family members but rather family friends, babysitters, child care providers and others, and 30 percent of child victims are abused by family members. Nearly a quarter of the abusers are under the age of 18, the department estimates.  Gaithersburg Patch