Patty Wetterling
| Patty Wetterling | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 2, 1949 Omaha, Nebraska |
| Residence | St. Joseph, Minnesota |
| Occupation | community organizer, political activist |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Political party | Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party |
| Board member of | International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children |
| Spouse(s) | Jerry Wetterling |
| Children | 4 |
Patty Wetterling (born November 2, 1949) is a U.S. advocate of children's safety and current chair of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Her advocacy particularly focuses on protecting children from abduction and abuse. In recent years Wetterling has become one of the most vocal critics of current sex offender registry laws pointing them as overly broad and unnecessarily causing tremendous harm to many. Her advocacy began after her son Jacob was abducted in 1989 and culminated in passage of federal Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act. She was a candidate for the Minnesota Sixth District seat in the United States House of Representatives as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate in 2004 and 2006, losing to Republicans Mark Kennedy and Michele Bachmann respectively. In September 2016, the remains of her son Jacob were discovered and positively identified.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Wetterling grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota and later moved to St. Joseph, where she raised four children (Amy, Jacob, Trevor and Carmen) with her husband Jerry. On October 22, 1989, their son Jacob, then 11 years old, was abducted at gunpoint by a masked man. An extensive search was carried out, but Jacob and the abductor were not found. Jacob's remains were found on September 1, 2016, 27 years after the abduction. Four months after the abduction, the Wetterlings founded the Jacob Wetterling Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to child safety education. Wetterling sent a scathing letter to then Attorney General Alberto Gonzales decrying the dilution of sex offender registration laws and demanding that Congress and the Justice Department fix the flaws that their overzealousness caused. On June 18, 2007, Wetterling was interviewed on air by Minnesota Public Radio and discussed "Romeo and Juliet" offenders. Wetterling has found common ground with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and joined them in declaring the Adam Walsh Act unconstitutional and contrary to public safety. On September 14, 2007, Wetterling reiterated her perception of the harm that current sex offender laws are causing.
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