RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Supreme Court has granted a stay to keep a state law that bans sex offenders from using social networking websites in effect. Attorney General Roy Cooper requested the stay after a Court of Appeals ruling last week ruled the law unconstitutional because it is vague and violates free speech. Full Article
Read MoreMonth: August 2013
New research finds forensic experts play for pay (Video)
Daniel Murrie of the University of Virginia and Marcus Boccaccini at Sam Houston State University presented new research in the Aug. 28, 2013, issue of the journal Psychological Science that indicates that forensic psychologists and psychiatrists provide the group that is paying them for their testimony with the evidence that group, prosecution or defense, expects to be best for their case. Full Article
Read MoreRadio: Coalinga State Hospital News
Stories from men being confined against their will because they *may* commit future crimes. Topics: sex offender laws, pre-crime commitment, CA prison system, civil commitment, civil rights. Link
Read MoreCA RSOL Meetings – September 14 in LA and October 12 in Berkeley
California RSOL is pleased to announce two upcoming monthly meetings for registrants, friends and family in both regions of the Golden State. The Southern California meeting will be held on Saturday, September 14 at the ACLU building at 1313 W. 8th Street in Los Angeles (usual location). CA RSOL will hold a meeting in Northern California on Saturday, October 12, in Oakland / Berkeley. The address is Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, ***1606 Bonita Avenue***, Berkeley, CA 94709. *** Please note: an incorrect address was listed previously for the Berkeley meeting…
Read MoreI, Pedophile
Child pornography should end. As an ex-convict, I ask: Is prison the most effective way to address demand? It was shortly before 3:00 a.m. on May 30, 2012 when I turned off my computer for the last time. I slid my recliner over three feet and tucked myself into my bed, for another sleepless session of self-loathing and self-pity. Later that morning, I would not be at my friends’ home as I had planned to help them celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Instead, I would find myself sitting on the hard…
Read MoreMasha Allen Lawsuit: Child Porn Victim Sues Viewers For $150K Apiece
PHILADELPHIA — A child pornography victim from Pennsylvania is using a law that carries her name to seek at least $150,000 each from her father, 13 other jailed men and anyone else who viewed explicit images of her. “Masha’s Law” is named for Masha ____, a Russian orphan adopted at age 5 by divorced Pittsburgh-area millionaire ____ ____. He’s in prison for making and posting about 200 sexually explicit images of her that authorities believe have been viewed millions of times online. Full Article
Read MoreParolee Limited by GPS and Residency Can Sue California
California must face claims that it violated the civil rights of a convicted sex offender by conditioning parole on a residency restriction and GPS monitoring, the 9th Circuit ruled. ____ ____ faced these parole restrictions even though his convictions in California were not sex-related. ____ was convicted of California in 2006 for buying or receiving stolen property, and later for robbery. Both times the Golden State imposed residency and GPS monitoring restrictions as conditions of ____ ‘s parole release from prison because of ____ ‘s 1987 guilty plea in Tennessee to sexual battery.…
Read MoreMI: Bill to restrict certain RSO re. their interaction with minors
Michigan Senator Tonya Schuitmaker has introduced Senate Bill 454 which by any standard should be considered unconstitutional. Given it was introduced the end of July, it is FIRST intended to be a Halloween restrictions bill, but reading the bill shows us it extends 365 days of the year and to circumstances far beyond Halloween; Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and to other types of celebrations. And for those certain sex offenders who are required to register for a lifetime, a lifetime restriction. Read more
Read MoreRSOL Conference this week in Los Angeles (with program brochure)
Later this week, August 30 (29) – September 1, the National RSOL Conference will take place in Los Angeles at the Westin Hotel near LAX. This year’s conference is hosted by California RSOL. The conference will feature presentations and lectures by the foremost experts in the field and offers an unprecedented opportunity for networking with others interested in and affected by the subject. Full conference attendance is $100, with daily passes available for $50. No advance reservation / sign-up is required, register at the door. For a preview of planned…
Read MoreFacial Scanning Is Making Gains in Surveillance
WASHINGTON — The federal government is making progress on developing a surveillance system that would pair computers with video cameras to scan crowds and automatically identify people by their faces, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with researchers working on the project. The Department of Homeland Security tested a crowd-scanning project called the Biometric Optical Surveillance System — or BOSS — last fall after two years of government-financed development. Although the system is not ready for use, researchers say they are making significant advances. That alarms privacy advocates, who say that…
Read MoreProp 35 Court Date [updated with audio]
Prop. 35 case has a court date on September 10 at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The topic is whether the current preliminary injunction was properly granted. More information / documents Sept 9: Court to Hear Arguments on Right to Anonymous Speech in Prop. 35 Case September 9 / EFF: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear oral arguments Tuesday in Doe v. Harris, EFF’s challenge to California’s Proposition 35, which requires registered sex offenders to turn over all of their Internet identifiers and service…
Read MoreFacebook’s Zuckerberg: Web access a ‘human right’ -vs- Facebook Terms of Service
Facebook’s Zuckerberg: Web access a ‘human right’ It’s easy to get behind the intentions of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to bring the Web to billions of people. The language he’s using to sell it may be a bit more contentious: the social media giant called Internet access “a human right.” Full Article – vs – Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities 4. Registration and Account Security Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here are some commitments you make…
Read MoreN.Y. County Outsources The Job Of Monitoring Sex Offenders
NPR – A suburban county on Long Island, N.Y., is taking a novel approach to monitoring sex offenders: It’s giving the job to a victims’ advocacy group. The measure was approved unanimously earlier this year; lawmakers call it a cost-effective way to keep citizens safe. But a local lawyer calls it a “vigilante exercise,” and convicted sex offenders are organizing to challenge the legislation. ____ ____, 42, a convicted sex offender, is among those who object to the methods of Parents for Megan’s Law, the advocacy group hired by Suffolk County. ____,…
Read MoreMan Sentenced to Life in State Prison without the Possibility of Parole for Stabbing-Murder of Neighbor…
SANTA ANA – A man was sentenced today to life in state prison without the possibility of parole plus an additional eight years in state prison for murdering his mobile home park neighbor by stabbing him to death and assaulting a second victim two days later. Robert Eugene Vasquez, 36, San Juan Capistrano, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of special circumstances murder by lying in wait, one felony count of aggravated assault, and sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a deadly weapon and causing…
Read MoreCO: Englewood’s Sex Offender Residency Restriction’s Ruled Unconstitutional [UPDATED]
DENVER – In a case brought by ACLU attorneys, a federal district court yesterday invalidated an Englewood ordinance that restricts where persons convicted of certain sex offenses can live, ruling that the ordinance violates the Colorado Constitution. Englewood’s ordinance makes it a crime for persons convicted of certain sex offenses to live within 2000 feet of any school, park, or playground, or 1000 feet of any licensed day care center, recreation center or swimming pool, or any property located next to a bus stop, walk-to-school route, or recreational trail. Judge R. Brooke…
Read MoreTX: Harlingen couple jailed for beating convicted sex offender
A Harlingen couple is facing criminal charges after being accused of brutally beating a convicted sex offender. Harlingen police arrested 31-year-old Monica Nieves and her 19-year-old boyfriend Juan Quezada. Investigators told Action 4 News that it all happened on the 200 block of East Madison Avenue. Police said Nieves slapped and attacked the man while Quezada jumped in to punched him. Both of them told police that they did it because the man was a sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Lawmaker wants to expand death penalty to include sex crimes
CLEVELAND (AP) – The case of 3 Cleveland women held captive for a decade is inspiring an Ohio lawmaker to call for expanding the state’s death penalty law. State Rep. John Becker of suburban Cincinnati wants the death penalty to cover some sex-related crimes. Full Article
Read MoreFL: They Shoot Sex Offenders, Don’t They?
In this week’s print edition of New Times, you’ll find a feature story on the warring opinions over Florida’s sex offender registry. It’s also not the only piece of journalism around town this week diving into the issue. Over the last three days the Sun-Sentinel has dropped a large-scale investigation into the state’s Jimmy Ryce law, a safeguard designed to keep the state’s worst sex offenders locked up after their prison time. Even though the investigation’s data-mining turned up some troubling trends, the series was a textbook knee-jerk sex offender story: the data…
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