It is difficult to overstate the importance of Missouri House Bill 1698, commonly known as Jessica’s Law, for Missouri children.

Gov. Matt Blunt signed this comprehensive child sex offender legislation into law on Monday. The result is that Missouri now has perhaps the toughest laws against child predators of any state in the nation.

Blunt and several Missouri legislators, including Rep. Scott Lipke, a Jackson Republican who was the bill’s lead sponsor, and Sen. Matt Bartle, a Lee’s Summit Republican who carried the bill in the Senate, worked closely with police, prosecutors, and child advocates to craft a bill that will dramatically improve our ability to prosecute anyone who preys on Missouri’s children.

At the heart of the new law is a life sentence for anyone who rapes or sodomizes a child less than 12 years old. And unlike so-called “life” sentences in some states, this sentence will really stick: Offenders will not become parole eligible until they spend at least 30 years behind bars.

Other key provisions give police and prosecutors important new tools to hunt down and prosecute Internet predators.