Despite a threatened lawsuit, a resident’s plea and a councilman’s misgivings, Grover Beach effectively blocked any additional child molesters from living in the city. The City Council voted 4-1, with Councilman Bill Nicolls dissenting, to approve the second reading of an ordinance expanding so-called “protected zones” to 2,000 feet around schools, preschools, day care centers and parks. Previously, the distance was 1,000 feet. Individuals convicted of sex crimes against children — younger than 18 — who are required to register as sex offenders are barred from moving into temporary or permanent residences…
Read MoreYear: 2014
U.N. Report Declares Internet Access a Human Right
A United Nations report said Friday that disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law. Full Article
Read MoreWill sex offender rules in California change?
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —It may get tougher to track sex offenders under a new state policy California is exploring. Right now, California has an estimated 78,000 sex offenders, all of whom must, by law, register with the state for life. But Thursday, the Sex Offender Management Board started moving forward to change the rules, so that so-called lower-level offenders released from prison would be eligible to register for just 10 to 20 years – after which no one would monitor them at all. Full Article
Read MoreRI: Law aims to prevent sex offenders from working near kids
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A bill put forward by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office would punish certain businesses if they “knowingly” hire a sex offender whose victim was a minor. The proposed law would fine the entity $1,000 a day for every day the employee worked there unless the worker lied about his status as a sex offender when they apply. “The only onus on the business is to ask the question, there is no fiscal cost unless the business hires the person knowingly,” Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said. “If…
Read MoreSupreme Court May Take Up Va. Sex Registry Case
WASHINGTON (AP) — She was a 24-year-old swimming instructor who had a sexual affair with a male student under 16. The woman was convicted in Virginia in 1993 of unlawful sex with a teenager and served 30 days in jail. She was listed on the state’s sex offender registry, and could have tried to get her name removed at some point, but didn’t. Fifteen years later, the state passed a new law that reclassified her and thousands of others as violent sex offenders. The woman — identified in court papers…
Read MoreCalifornia “Ban the Box” Resource Guide
A new state law (AB 218) requires that by July 1, 2014, the State of California, as well as every city, county and special district in the state, have a “ban the box” policy in place so that questions about conviction history do not appear on the government’s initial job application. Resource Guide
Read MoreFL: 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
Read MoreGeneral 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
Read MoreFL: 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…
Read MoreParents, 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…
Read MoreLoma 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…
Read MoreEl 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…
Read MoreRe-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…
Read MoreAdditional 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…
Read MoreTN: 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…
Read MoreMA: Lawmaker wants to ban sex offenders from lottery winnings
UXBRIDGE — A veteran lawmaker said Tuesday he is working on a bill that would ban convicted sex offenders from payouts by the state lottery. State Sen. Richard T. Moore, D-Uxbridge, was reacting to the recent arrest of a convicted Level 3 sex offender in his hometown. Full Article
Read MoreRegistered 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…
Read MoreAnaheim, 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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