A new law is making it possible for federal prosecutors to charge sex offenders for failing to register.

Armando Beltran-Gonzalez, 43, is the state's first case under the "Adam Walsh Child Protection Act."

"The Adam Walsh Act gives us a new tool in the battle to give America's children a safe childhood," said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren.

Beltran-Gonzalez was indicted Wednesday by a grand jury for failing to register as a sex offender and one count of unlawfully re-entering the U.S. after being convicted of an aggravated felony and being deported.

"As of December 1, 2006, there were more than 590,000 convicted, registered sex offenders in the United States. More than 100,000 of them were not complying with the law," said Melgren.

The Adam Walch Act of 2006 was named after the son of John Walsh, host of FOX's America's Most Wanted. Adam Walsh was abducted and murdered in 1981.

Melgren urges parents to educate themselves about the growing problem of sexual predators, particularly those who use the Internet to target victims.

A study conducted by Cox Communications shows that 61 percent of 13 to 17 year olds have a personal profile on social networking sites such as MySpace, Friendster or Xanga.

In another study by the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center, of youth ages 10 to 17 who use the Internet regularly, 34 percent said they had posted their real name, telephone numbers or home address, and 45 percent had posted their real age.

Beltran-Gonzalez will be arraigned next week in federal court in Wichita on charges of failing to register as a sex offender.

The federal sex offender registration site is at www.nsopr.gov. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation's sex offender Web is at www.kansas.gov/kbi/ro.shtml.