Fifty-five sex offenders have registered with sheriff's departments in Cape Girardeau and surrounding counties under a new Missouri law that gives authorities an instant suspect list for future crimes.

Twenty-six have registered in Cape Girardeau County, 19 in Scott County, seven in Bollinger County and five in Perry County.

The law, which took effect Jan. 1, requires rapists, child molesters and other people convicted of sex offenses since July 1, 1979, to register with local police and county sheriff's departments.

Sex offenders who move to Missouri or who change addresses within the state are required to register within two weeks after moving.

Failure to register is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and one year in the county jail.

The law requires the sex offenders to be fingerprinted and photographed, and they must fill out a form listing their address and their place of employment.

The law applies to felony sex offenders in cases in which the victims were children, age 13 and younger, or those that involved a violent rape or sodomy.

The law applies to sex offenders regardless of what state the crime was committed in.

Sex offenders were required to register by Jan. 31, but local law enforcement officials say there is no way to tell how many haven't filed.

The Missouri Highway Patrol estimates that there are 5,000 potential registrants, including 2,500 sex offenders who currently are on probation or parole.

Capt. Clarence Greeno, director of public information for the Missouri Highway Patrol in Jefferson City, said the estimate was reached by taking into account both those on probation and parole, and those who are currently serving prison sentences for felony sex offenses.

"I don't think at this point anyone has a really good handle on how many people are required to register," Greeno said.

Many sex offenders, however, haven't registered. As of Feb. 1, only about 670 of the 2,500 sex offenders on probation or parole had registered, the patrol reported.

Fourteen of the 26 registrants in Cape Girardeau County are on probation or parole.

County Sheriff John Jordan said the state has some control over sex offenders, who are on probation or parole, to see that they register. But there is no assurance those who aren't under the supervision of the probation and parole office will register, he and other law enforcement officials said.

Authorities said some of these sex offenders probably won't be detected until they have been arrested for another crime.

Jordan said his office averaged almost one registration a day during January. "We are still having people come in to register."

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle sent certified letters to about 50 or 60 sex offenders in late December, informing them about the new law.

He said the letters were sent to people who had pleaded guilty or had been convicted of felony sex offenses in the county over the past 15 years.

Some letters were sent to people living in other states. "I sent it to everybody because I wanted them to check the law in their own state," Swingle said.

Some 25 states, including Illinois, have similar laws.

Illinois has had its law since 1986. It requires anyone convicted of a second or subsequent sex offense to register for a period of 10 years.

In the seven counties of Southern Illinois, nine people currently are on the list.

As to the Missouri law, Swingle plans to vigorously prosecute sex offenders who don't register.

The law requires sex offenders to register with both sheriff's and police departments.

But in Cape Girardeau County, all the registration is being done by the sheriff's department. Copies of the list will be provided to local police departments.