In 2010, ____ ____ threatened his estranged wife by writing rants on his Facebook page such as, “There’s one way to love you but a thousand ways to kill you. I’m not going to rest until your body is a mess, soaked in blood and dying from all the little cuts.” For making these threats, a federal district court sentenced him to more than three years in prison. Full Article
Read MoreMonth: June 2015
UT: Utah sex offender must pay victim for lost wages, appeals court says
A man who sexually exploited a Utah teen will have to reimburse her for the pay she lost when depression caused by the abuse led to problems at work and a reduction in her hours. In a 3-0 decision, the Utah Court of Appeals upheld a 3rd District judge’s order requiring Scott C. Wadsworth to pay restitution of nearly $13,000 in lost wages to his victim, who is now an adult. The ruling said the connection between the sex crimes and the victim’s economic injury is sufficient to support the…
Read MoreNY: Sex offenders want former Gov. Pataki to pay for illegal confinement program
Syracuse, NY — A federal appeals court is considering whether former Gov. George Pataki should be held responsible for an illegal sex offender confinement program that was disbanded in 2006. Full Article
Read MoreMI: ‘Old-fashioned scarlet letter’: Elkhart 19-year-old fights sex offender status after encounter with Michigan teen
As ____ ____ sits in the Berrien County Jail in St. Joseph, Mich., his parents worry. And plead. And fight. The young man from Elkhart, 19, pleaded guilty in Berrien County, Mich., Trial Court in March to a misdemeanor count of criminal sexual conduct for having sex — consensual sex — on Dec. 19, 2014, with a Niles, Mich., teen. She said she was 17, and met him in person after a whirlwind courtship in cyberspace that started with a meeting via the social app Hot or Not. Full Article
Read MoreProgram dies that let juvenile offenders clear their records
An unintended casualty of California’s criminal justice realignment of 2011, which shifted low-level criminals from state to county custody to relieve prison overcrowding, was a program that allowed juvenile offenders who did well on parole to erase their records that could follow them for the rest of their lives. Full Article
Read MoreHomophobic “Romeo and Juliet” Laws Fail to Decriminalize Queer Youth in Texas. Can It Be Fixed?
Consensual gay sex was a felony in every state until Illinois repealed its sodomy law in 1961. Connecticut, Ohio, California, and other states soon followed. By 2002, thirty-six states either selectively enforced or had overturned their statutes. Lawrence v Texas (2003) marked the federal end of sodomy laws. Even though sodomy statutes are unconstitutional, a handful of states still think sex between same-sex partners is illegal. State Representative Mary Gonzalez of Texas is valiantly attempting to equalize the unfair treatment and criminalization of queer adolescents. Full Article
Read MoreDuggar scandal: What should parents do if a child touches a sibling?
The scandal surrounding the Duggar family, famous for their reality TV series “19 Kids and Counting,” and who confirmed this week that one of their sons inappropriately touched girls, at least two of them his sisters, when he was a teenager, raises a difficult question: What should parents do if one of their children is inappropriately touching a young sibling? Dr. Karen Kay Imagawa, director of the Audrey Hepburn CARES Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, which offers services for suspected victims of child abuse and their families, offered some…
Read MoreQuestionable Commitments
There is a young man in Virginia sitting behind tall fences and razor wire, guarded by men with guns, and never allowed to leave. According to the state, he isn’t in prison, and he is not being punished for a crime. Instead, he’s being held because the government says he might commit a crime in the future. Full Article
Read MoreThe Failure of Sex Offender Policy (Opinion)
The public expects and deserves evidence-based practices when it comes to public safety. This is true for any aspect of public policy but perhaps none so much as sex offender policy. With sex offenders, there is a sense of moral outrage at the depravity of their crimes, and rightly so. Virtually any sex crime makes the news headlines because the public has a very high interest in this crime. Too often politicians not only capitalize on the fear that is caused by sex offenders, but they inadvertently create more of…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Two Heart Beats Away from President
As Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Dennis Hastert was two heart beats away from serving as President of the United States. That is, if both the President and Vice President had died while in office, Hastert would have stepped into the Oval Office and assumed the leadership of this country. The fact is that Hastert was a member of the U.S House of Representatives for 20 years, representing a Congressional district in Illinois from 1987 to 2007. The fact is that Hastert became the Speaker of the House…
Read MoreCity of El Monte Repeals Residency Restrictions
The El Monte City Council agreed to repeal the city’s residency restrictions for registered citizens during its meeting on June 2. This was the second of three steps necessary to rid the city of its residency restrictions. The repeal will go into effect on July 1 unless it is contested in court. The City of El Monte is the second city to repeal its residency restrictions following a decision by the California Supreme Court earlier this year. The first city to repeal its residency restrictions is the City of Downey.…
Read MoreCalifornia Senate passes bill giving longer sentences to sex offenders who remove GPS tracker
Violent sex offenders who disable their GPS tracking devices would receive longer prison sentences under a bill prompted by Orange County serial killings and approved unanimously Tuesday by the state Senate. The bill by state Sen. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, cleared the Senate floor and is headed to the Assembly. Full Article Related Senator Patricia Bates Press Release SB 722 After sex offenders accused of killing 4 women, state bill would crack down on those who tamper with GPS monitors [UPDATED]
Read MoreSenate Public Safety to Consider Residency Restrictions Bill [UPDATED with Public Safety Committee Hearing Date]
UPDATE: The Senate Public Safety Committee has scheduled the hearing for SB 54 on June 30. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. and be held in Room 4203 in the State Capitol building. Senate Bill 54 (SB 54) has been referred to the Senate Public Safety Committee. Although a specific hearing date has not yet been set, the committee must hear the bill in either June or July to the Senate schedule. As currently written, SB 54 would prohibit most registered citizens from living within 2,000 feet of a…
Read MoreGeneral Comments June 2015
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of June 2015. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
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