Los Angeles (CNN) — Registered child sex offenders in Simi Valley, California, will not have to post a sign outside their home this Halloween reading in part “no candy,” but they still are prohibited from decorating their houses and handing out candy, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. This is a partial and temporary victory for a group of the city’s sex offenders and their wives who sued the city claiming that a recently passed law was unconstitutional and sought a temporary injunction of the law before a full hearing next…
Read MoreMonth: October 2012
Judge temporarily blocks part of Simi Valley Halloween sex offender law
A federal judge Monday temporarily blocked enforcement of a key provision of Simi Valley’s new Halloween sex offender law but left the rest of the ordinance intact. U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson’s ruling came days before the holiday on Wednesday. Anderson temporarily blocked the city from requiring its several dozen convicted child sex offenders listed on the Megan’s Law website to post signs on their front doors on Halloween saying: “No candy or treats at this residence.” Full Article
Read MoreAUS: Why name and shame sex offenders, asks Tom Percy
THE experience with sex offender registers in the US has included deaths and gratuitous violence, as well as payback measures. There are a couple of convicted murderers living in the same suburb as I do. I know, because I’ve seen them. There are probably a few in your suburb, too. Maybe even your street. After all, almost all of them do eventually get out, and they have to live somewhere. Full Article
Read MoreCourt Grants Partial Temporary Restraining Order In Challenge to Halloween Ordinance
The City of Simi Valley is prohibited from enforcing a requirement that sex offenders post a sign on the front door of their homes on Halloween this year, according to a decision by federal district court judge Percy Anderson. The decision will allow the city to prohibit sex offenders from decorating their homes and answering the door to trick-or-treaters as well as require them to leave off all exterior lighting. “We are pleased with the judge’s decision to prohibit the City of Simi Valley from requiring registrants to post a…
Read MoreAnother one bites the dust: Hollow SVP prosecution no match for jurors’ common sense
15 minutes. After a five-week trial, that’s how long it took a jury in a rural Northern California county to decide that an openly gay man who had served two years in prison for a forcible oral copulation of an acquaintance back in 2003 did not merit civil commitment as a sexually violent predator. The prosecution’s case featured a lone government psychologist whose opinion rested on a hollow combination of homophobia, bogus psychiatric diagnoses and trumped-up risk estimates. The psychologist cited archaic (and discredited) Freudian theory to claim that the…
Read MoreProp 35: Sex traffic law vaguely expands police power
Proposition 35, if passed, will create harsher punishments for those who participate in the sex trafficking industry. These punishments include prison sentences up to 15-years-to-life and fines up to $1.5 million. Those who are convicted would also be required to register as sex offenders, receive limitations to Internet access and would be supervised by law enforcement. Full Article
Read MoreHalloween and RSOs [Audio]
Anthony talks with Creators columnist and veteran TV crime reporter Diane Dimond about whether police programs to contact and target registered sex offenders in the days leading up to Halloween constitute good public-safety policy or a needless violation of civil liberties. Full Article
Read MoreOhio To Intensify Monitoring with Three New Initiatives
New sex offender tracking technology. The development of three new initiatives in Ohio will intensify the State’s ability to monitor the more than 19,000 convicted sex offenders living in the state.
Read MoreSex offender’s appeal heard in court
The appeal of a registered sex offender, who was arrested under a county ordinance when he visited a park in Fountain Valley, went to court Thursday. ____ of Santa Ana, who was convicted Nov. 14 of a misdemeanor for entering a county park without written permission from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, is the first registered offender to appeal the county statute, said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office. Attorneys for both sides gave oral arguments Thursday morning at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. ____,…
Read MoreOperation Boo” Rounds Up Sex Offenders on Halloween
SANTA MARIA, Calif.- In just a few days, your child will be going door-to-door trick or treating inevitably coming face-to-face with a stranger. So, how well do you know your neighbors from registered sex offenders to criminals? “Yeah, very! We usually go with our children when we trick or treat but yea that’s scary,” says Santa Maria parent, Lisa Burress. As Lisa Burress helps her son find that perfect Halloween costume she’s taken aback after hearing there are 142 registered sex offenders living in Santa Maria where her son will be…
Read MoreAnaheim Adopts Sex Offender Ordinance
The Anaheim City Council voted unanimously to enact an ordinance yesterday to expand child safety zones to protect children from registered sex offenders in city parks. The Ordinance, which was originally introduced by Councilwoman Kris Murray, becomes effective in 30 days. The City Council also includes Mayor Tom Tait, Mayor pro tem Harry S Sidhu, P.E., and Council Members Gail E. Eastman and Lorri Galloway. Full Article
Read MoreCOMMENTARY: SOME U.S. SEX LAWS DRACONIAN AS GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO PROTECT CITIZENS
No country on the planet has tried to control it’s citizens sexual behavior more than the United States. That statement is not about the necessity of such laws but rather a matter of fact. Fear and a demand for government protection from “predators” has created some really bad public policy. Originally set up to protect children from pedophiles, the expansion of the publicly available sex offender registry now includes anyone and everyone convicted of a felony with the word sex in it. Getting drunk and showing off your junk can…
Read MoreConvicted East Bay Sex Offender Killed In Prison Cell
FOLSOM, Sacramento County (CBS SF) – A convicted sex offender from Contra Costa County who was killed in an apparent homicide in his state prison cell in Folsom last week has been identified as 51-year-old Raymond Johnston. Lt. Tony Quinn, of California State Prison-Sacramento in Folsom, said correctional officers found Johnston unresponsive in his cell just after 9 p.m. Wednesday as prisoners were being counted. Full Article
Read MoreCan everyone please calm down about child abuse?
Jimmy Savile was a repulsive individual who indulged in vile, degraded, abusive acts. On that we can all agree. But what is less a matter of consensus is how we should respond to the scandal. When I argued on Newsnight this week that we need some calm reflection and that the whole of society should not be reorganised around child protection, it started a minor Twitchunt, and I have been accused of everything from being a BBC stooge to a callous apologist for paedophilia. Full Article
Read MoreCommunity goes too far in robbing sex offenders and their children of Halloween
A new law in Simi Valley, Calif., has banned registered sex offenders from decorating their homes for Halloween. They are also not allowed to pass out candy or to turn outside lights on, and they must post signs stating there is no candy at the residence. All of this makes a lot of sense; these are not the kind of people that I would want around my future children, but I have to wonder if lawmakers have taken things a little too far. Full Article
Read MoreAnaheim City Council approves Parks Ban
The Anaheim City Council approved an ordinance prohibiting persons required to register under CA PC 290 to enter public city parks on Oct 23. California RSOL members spoke in opposition. Audio: [audio:https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/anaheim_oct23.mp3] Video: http://anaheim.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1134 Item 29 starts at 1:43 Documents: http://www.anaheim.net/docs_agend/questys_pub/MG38467/AS38506/AS38509/AI40614/Documents.htm City Web Site: http://www.anaheim.net
Read MoreACLU opposes Proposition 35 [Video]
Watch on YouTube [hana-flv-player video=”https://all4consolaws.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/No-On-Prop-35-ACLU-Francisco-Lobaco.flv” width=”360″ description=”” player=”5″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” /]
Read MoreSex Offender Residency Restrictions Impede Safety Goals
Recently, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that a policy banning registered sex offenders from entering Albuquerque’s public libraries is unconstitutional. Over the past decade the availability of online sex offender registries has enabled widespread awareness of sexual offenders living in the community, increasing concerns for the safety of children and leading politicians to pass laws restricting where sex offenders can live, work and even be present. Residence restrictions in 30 states and countless municipalities typically prohibit individuals convicted of sex crimes from residing within 500…
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