FL: ACLU Holds Forum on Sex Offender Registry Restrictions

This past Saturday, the ACLU of Florida held a forum on the efficacy of sex offender residency restrictions. The event, moderated by CBS 4 Reporter Jim DeFede, sought to answer the question of whether the residency restrictions imposed on sex offenders are based on evidence or politics and, more importantly, whether they are actually making our communities safer. Full Article

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General Gets Reprimand in Misconduct Case

FORT BRAGG, N.C., — A military judge on Thursday morning reprimanded Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair for mistreating his mistress and other charges, but did not sentence him to any jail time and allowed him to remain in the military. General Sinclair was also ordered to forfeit $5,000 a month in pay for four months, but will be allowed to keep his pension and other benefits. Full Article

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FL: How Many Convictions Are Questionable in Light of Sting Exposure

Imagine someone offers you a cigarette, you accept and about halfway through smoking it they tell you the cigarette contains marijuana and they are arresting you for possession. The cigarette never actually contained marijuana and you never sought out drugs, but you get arrested anyhow. That’s how many who were arrested in sex offender stings feel. Last Friday, Tampa’s CBS affiliate, WTSP, had the courage to report on something that victims had been screaming about for years; Sex Offender stings. Only in this case it’s not an abused child who…

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Parents, Stop Panicking About Sexual Predators Online

In a recent New York Times profile, Danah Boyd was described by one of her colleagues at NYU as our first anthropologist “who comes from the tribe she’s studying,” meaning that the 36-year-old researcher is a digital native who grew up immersed in the same online culture as the teenagers she now studies. “Danah Boyd often dresses like her youthful subjects,” reads the caption on a photo of her wearing a fuzzy animal beanie and striped knee-highs, suggesting that Boyd is an emissary from a new and unexplored terrain. But…

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Loma Linda agress not to enforce sex offender ordinance

The City of Loma Linda has joined a growing number of cities by agreeing not to enforce its sex offender ordinance that prohibits registered citizens from entering city parks and other recreational areas. The agreement will last until the California Supreme Court makes its decision whether or not to review two recent Court of Appeals decisions that overturned similar ordinances in Orange County and the City of Irvine. Loma Linda’s decision was conveyed to California RSOL in a letter signed by the City Manager and dated March 17, 2014. The…

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El Centro City Council repeals city ordinance on registered sex offender restrictions

El Centro City Council approved repealing a city ordinance relating to registered sex offender restrictions due to a state law that precedes the city’s ordinance. The city recently received a letter from a nonprofit group asking them to repeal the ordinance and would challenge the ordinance in court if it was not repealed in 60 days, El Centro Mayor Viegas-Walker said. El Centro and many other cities throughout the state are now having to repeal ordinances implemented in 2006 while the state figured out what the rules would be, said…

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Re-Offense Rate Drops in New CDCR Report

The rate at which registered citizens on parole commit a second sex offense has dropped to 1.8 percent according to a new report issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).  “The rate of re-offense for registered citizens on parole is an important fact for the public to know,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci.  “It debunks the myth that registered citizens ‘always’ re-offend.” The report also noted a rise in parole violations from 86.9 percent to 88 percent.  Parole violations can be minimal including consumption of a single alcoholic beverage…

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Additional Counseling Not Required For Some Registrants

The California Supreme Court has denied review of a case thereby relieving some registered citizens from the duty to participate in a state-mandated sex offender management program.  Specifically, as a result of the Supreme Court’s denial, registered citizens currently on probation whose sex offense occurred prior to September 10, 2010, are not required to complete a sex offender management program mandated by Penal Code Section 1203.067(b). The Supreme Court’s decision lets stand the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case People v. Douglas M. which was decided on October 24, 2013.  The case was…

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TN: Sex Offender Notification Bill Advances In Tennessee Legislature

FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn.(WHNT)-A push for tougher sex offender notification laws in Tennessee came one step closer to reality Tuesday, part of an ongoing effort that originated in Lincoln County several months ago. A committee in the Tennessee Legislature approved HB 1860, a bill that would allow municipal and county governments to mail written notices and post flyers in communities that convicted sex offenders move to. … “This gives parents the knowledge of who is in their community,” said Blackwelder. “It doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime…In this bill there is an additional…

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Registered Sex Offender Released After Being Wrongly Identified As Person on School Grounds

A registered sex offender who was believed to be the suspicious person spotted on a Sunnyvale school campus in January has been cleared in the case and is no longer in jail, a prosecutor said today.  Theodore ____ ____, 42, of San Jose, was released from the Santa Clara County Main Jail on Feb. 24 after prosecutors concluded that he did not visit the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School in Sunnyvale on Dec. 20, Deputy District Attorney Brian Welch said.  A prosecutor assigned to ___ case came to that conclusion…

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Anaheim, Grand Terrace Suspend Enforcement of Sex Offender Ordinances

The cities of Anaheim and Grand Terrace have agreed to suspend enforcement of sex offender ordinances that prohibit registered citizens from visiting public parks and other recreational areas. The cities reached this agreement with California RSOL after the organization notified them of recent appellate court decisions that such ordinances were preempted by state law and therefore could not be lawfully enforced. “These agreements are significant victories for registered citizens throughout the state of California,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “They will allow more than 105,000 citizens, their family members…

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Australia: Morcombes support sex offenders register

Broadcaster Derryn Hinch says his plan for a public sex offenders register is almost complete and he hopes Daniel Morcombe’s murder will force politicians to act. Hinch has long campaigned to name and shame pedophiles and says the Morcombe case proves the need for a national register so Australians can understand threats in their communities.  … Hinch, who has gone to jail for revealing details about sex offenders’ past crimes, says a national register is a no-brainer and that in the US it hasn’t resulted in the kind of vigilante action…

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General avoids sex offender list

Raleigh, N.C.— Defense attorneys said Sunday that an Army general has agreed to a plea deal that includes the dropping of sexual assault charges against him. Lawyers representing Brig. Gen. ____ ____ said he will plead to lesser charges in exchange for having the sexual assault charges dropped, along with two other counts that might have required Sinclair to register as a sex offender. Full Article

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AR: Police Check On Sex Offenders As Spring Break Looms

Multiple agencies in Sebastian and Crawford counties conducted a sex offender compliance operation this week in preparation for keeping the community safe during spring break, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Operation “Safe Break” confirmed compliance with 452 offenders, checking on them to make sure they are following all sex offender requirements, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Authorities made four arrests during the operation, which involved non-compliance with sex offender registration. Officers will also be seeking warrants on another 10 offenders not arrested during the operation but who appear…

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TX: Houston father shoots and kills boy in teen daughter’s room

A Houston father shot and killed a teenage boy he found in the room of his 16-year-old daughter in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said. The father heard noises coming from the room and went to investigate. Upon finding the 17-year-old boy with his daughter, the father got into a fight with the boy, and “the homeowner, who was armed, shot the male once,” the office said. Full Article

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