In March last year, a college freshman named ____ ____ was riding in a van filled with friends from Austin, Tex., to a spring-break rental house in Gulf Shores, Ala. As they neared their destination, the police pulled the van over, citing a faulty taillight. When an officer asked if he could search the vehicle, the driver — a fraternity brother of Mr. ____ who quickly regretted his decision — said yes.
Six Ecstasy pills were found in Mr. ____’s knapsack, and he was handcuffed and placed under arrest. Mr. ____ later agreed to enter a multiyear, pretrial diversion program that has involved counseling and drug tests, as well as visits to Alabama every six months to update a judge on his progress.
But once he is done, Mr. ____ ’s record will be clean. Which means that by the time he graduates from the University of Texas at Austin, he can start his working life without taint.
At least in the eyes of the law. In the eyes of anyone who searches for Mr. ____ online, the taint could last a very long time. That’s because the mug shot from his arrest is posted on a handful of for-profit Web sites, with names like Mugshots, BustedMugshots and JustMugshots. These companies routinely show up high in Google searches; a week ago, the top four results for “____ ____” were mug-shot sites. Full Article
It’s ALL about the money! Everyone makes a buck off of the current legal system. I don’t think this man’s mug shot or arrest info should have been accessible to the creeps who run that type of site.
Thank you google…
Maybe now that it’s getting attention for non-sex registrants, there could be a chance to get these sites shut down!
This is why we should be fighting to have the public registry accessible only through local law enforcement websites. That way there is some kind of control via such a site. Like having it require registration of the individual to access it.
We would not think of putting a persons medical history online but we think everyone has a right (or need) to know about a persons criminal past? Why? Law enforcement “might” need to have access but the general public!!! Of course, not!
It only gets abused as in the case of these extortion sites or even worse; gives vigilantes exact information for their “hit lists”!
We sex offenders are the poster children for the sorts of abuse made possible by making this information available to the public and it has to stop! Some have even paid with their very lives!
How long do you have to pay for a “mistake”? How many times?
Maybe I’ll open a website that does the same reflection of a dirty past, & then post the pic’s & dirt of the supporters of these ridiculous laws & schemes. Interview their past significant others & such: smut it all up, then charge them a phenomenal price to remove their closet along with the skeletons that fell out off if the site. 😀
Lawsuits is the only answer. There is actually a web site online where you can do background checks. Well, I did one on myself 8 years after my charge was expunged! I almost passed out. The site showed I was convicted of my original charge (assault)? The charge had been dismissed years early and I plead to a battery? The customer service person wouldn’t give me his name or let me talk to a supervisor! They stated I must go to the LA County Court, wait in line for an hour and have them fax a copy of the minute order? I’m in Ca and the HQ is in Seattle! Any ideas or thoughts?
Make NO mistake. The lawsuit pursued by Janice has been the spark that has led to national attention to this menace. Now, we find out that Google, the credit card companies, Paypal, and other actors whom are part of the entire scheme (through their search and pay portals) are cutting off the lifeblood of these sites.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/10/07/payment-providers-and-google-will-kill-the-mug-shot-extortion-industry-faster-than-lawmakers/
But none of this would have happened without the lawsuit initiated by Janice and CARSOL in the FIRST place. Another win, even without the court victory!