State lawmakers have given initial approval to a plan to open up the state's sex offender registry after the recent reign of terror by accused sex offender Brent Brents.

A measure by Democratic Senator Suzanne Williams would remove a provision that requires residents to give a reason to find out if their neighbors are sex offenders and would allow authorities to post their records on the Internet.

House Bill 1035 removing the "need-to-know" restriction was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday and sent to the full Senate for debate.

The measure also allows the release of information on the sex offender registry to a person not residing in that jurisdiction. Information on a juvenile may be released only in certain circumstances.

But Republican Senator Norma Anderson says some records are inaccurate or incomplete and should be carefully reviewed before being posted on the Internet.

Brents is suspected of sexually assaulting at least five women and girls this month in the same Denver neighborhood. He also is suspected of raping a woman in a Denver alley in October and inappropriately touching an eight-year-old boy in Aurora.

He was arrested late Friday in Glenwood Springs, while driving a car stolen from a woman he allegedly beat earlier that day.