Mark Lunsford Fights for Children's Safety

Mark Lunsford never asked to be a crusader who worked to protect children from sexual predators. He just wanted to work, raise his daughter the best he could, and live his life.

But any plans Mark Lunsford had for the rest of his life came to a screeching halt on February 23, 2005 when his 9-year-old daughter was kidnapped in the middle of the night from her own bed. Over the next few days, little Jessica was repeatedly raped, locked in a closet, then, finally, buried alive.

Having a solid alibi, Mark was not considered a suspect, but other family members were investigated, especially Mark's mother and father, who lived with Jessica and Mark. The media quickly jumped on reports that Mark's father, Archie, had arrest convictions 50 years ago or more, but everyone in the Lunsford family cooperated fully with authorities, and they all passed lie detector tests.

Before long, authorities honed in on a suspect, a Florida sexual offender found in Georgia. John Couey confessed to Jessica's abduction, rape, and murder (though the confession would not be allowed in his trial because Couey was not provided with a lawyer when he requested. Authorities defended their decision to continue the interrogation without supplying Couey with a lawyer by stating that it was more important to find out where Jessica was, especially if Couey left her alive somewhere.)

As it turned out, Couey was living with his sister, who lived in the same neighborhood as Jessica and her family, yet he failed to register with the state, as is required of all sexual offenders by law. Though he confessed to the crime after being apprehended in Georgia, Couey was initially arrested only on charges of not registering his address after moving, which violated his probation on prior sexual offender convictions. This was enough to have Couey brought back to Florida, where he was formally charged with Jessica's kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder.

Since this time, Mark Lunsford has started a foundation in Jessica's name, the Jessica Marie Lunsford Foundation, which he uses to travel the country urging legislators all over the country to pass the "Jessica Lunsford Act," which is aimed at preventing sexual predators such as Couey from having access to places where children learn and play. Part of the law also requires repeat offenders to be electronically monitored with GPS tracking for life. The law, or a variation of it, has been passed in many states across the country.

Mark has even considered running for office in the Florida House of Representatives, but reconsidered when he thought about all the work still left to do for Jessie. He still has work to do in states where Jessie's Law has not been passed, and has taken a position with a He has not ruled out future political campaigns.