As families browsed the selection of seafood and frozen treats at the Havre de Grace Seafood Festival on Friday, protesters circulated fliers cautioning attendees about one of the event’s vendors. More than a dozen people handed out literature about ____ ____ _____, a 58-year-old food and ice cream truck operator who was convicted in 1999 of child sex abuse. Kayli Veres, a 28-year-old mother of five, said she organized the event to inform attendees who aren’t familiar with _____, ‘s past. She said she’s concerned because Maslin has been removed…
Read MoreMonth: August 2015
CA RSOL Meeting in Los Angeles – October 24
California RSOL will return its monthly meeting to Los Angeles on October 24. As usual, the location is the ACLU Building at 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Start time is 10 am. We will focus on current topics, including pending legislation and legal actions as well as offer an opportunity for networking with others. We welcome registrants, friends and family and other supporters to attend. The meeting is off-limits to media and government officials in order to ensure everyone’s privacy. There is no charge to attend. Show…
Read MoreMN: Gov. Dayton unveils possible reforms to troubled sex offender program
Gov. Mark Dayton spelled out a costly set of changes to Minnesota’s troubled sex offender treatment system on Monday, proposing new community facilities and closer evaluations in an attempt to satisfy a federal judge who says the program is unconstitutional and in need of an overhaul. Dayton and legislative leaders were called to appear in U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank’s court Monday morning for a closed-door hearing designed to hash out a political solution to a thorny legal problem. Full Article
Read MoreThe Crimes of Children
Round Rock High School, just north of Austin in the Texas Hill Country, sprawls over 88 acres. It feels like a small liberal-arts college: There is a junior R.O.T.C. Training center. There are basketball courts, a gymnastics facility, a swimming pool, a football field, soccer fields, and a baseball diamond that, along its outfield fence, bears a faded sign commemorating the school’s 1997 state championship victory. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Mobile home park offers residence for sex offenders
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – David Nichols drives through his trailer park on the southeast side of Oklahoma City surveying the seemingly constant buzz of activity. Men toil under the blazing summer sun, patching the leaky roofs of trailers, while others try to fix an old car parked in a makeshift garage. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Court backs sex offender ordinance in Palm Bay
PALM BAY, Fla. – There is a major victory for a Central Florida city looking to impose tougher restrictions on sex offenders. Palm Bay’s sex offender ordinance has been debated many times at city hall. Some say it puts too many restrictions on sex offenders, but Friday an appellate court released a ruling saying the ordinance does not violate offenders’ constitutional rights. Full Article
Read MoreJessica and Megan – You Know I’m Right [Commentary]
Last week California Sen. Sharon Runner wrote about the fate of SB54, which addresses those convicted of sex-offense crimes and their subsequent residency restrictions once they are released from incarceration. Runner stated her mission clearly: “The California Supreme Court decision (that ruled on a portion of Jessica’s Law as unconstitutional) creates uncertainty. County governments need a clear process to protect voter approved residency restrictions when possible and expedite relief when necessary; SB 54 provided much needed clarity.” She tried to give jurisdiction to local county courts that would allow for…
Read MoreMN: How one case — and geography — dramatically affected commitments to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program
On Thanksgiving eve 2003, Dru Sjodin disappeared from the Columbia Mall parking lot in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Early evidence didn’t look promising. Investigators found the 22-year-old’s car in a parking lot with a knife sheath beside it. A few days after the disappearance, police found one of her shoes across the Red Lake River in Crookston, Minnesota, under a bypass. Sjodin’s family wasn’t giving up, but by the end of the year, police knew they were most likely looking for a body. Full Article
Read MoreNM: Widow seeks damages in eldery inmate’s ‘brutal’ killing
A Santa Fe woman is suing the federal government over the beating death of her 72-year-old husband in a California prison after he was convicted on child pornography charges. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, says prison officials are to blame for putting retired Wall Street attorney ____ _ ____ in a communal cell at the Victorville, Calif., prison with another inmate whom they knew was a danger to him. Full Article
Read MoreKY: No place to live, sex offenders kept in prison
____ ____ ____ served out every bit of his eight-year sentence for sexual abuse and should have been released from prison more than a year ago. But he is still behind bars and could be for up to four more years, with state taxpayers footing the bill for his medical expenses and incarceration. The reason: He was charged with violating the terms of his conditional release from prison before he even got out, because he couldn’t find a legal place to live as a sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreFL: New security system will keep sex offenders out of Palm Beach County schools
WEST PALM BEACH (CBS12) – School will soon be back in session in Palm Beach County, and this year, new technology is offering an added layer of security. Ashley Frost is a parent and a teacher in Greenacres and says “I feel responsible to keep them safe so having one more security system in place can’t hurt.” Full Article
Read MoreMURRIETA: Mayor Ramos facing sexual harassment claim
A Ramona woman has filed a claim against Murrieta and Mayor Harry Ramos, alleging the mayor sexually harassed her at a Chamber of Commerce mixer in January. Full Article
Read MoreThink All Child Molesters are ‘Pedophiles’? Think Again.
Categorizing those that sexually abuse children as predatory pedophiles is not only a common misconception – it’s also dangerous. It gives us a sense that offenders are easier to identify through grooming behaviors or a lack therof, and easier to understand – that they have a sexual perversion that can’t be cured. This makes it all the more difficult to understand how someone respected and well-liked could sexually abuse a child. Full Article
Read MoreDoes youthful mistake merit sex-offender status?
(CNN)Zachery Anderson was a 19-year-old college student with no criminal history when he met a teenage girl on the dating app “Hot or Not” and had sex with her in December. The girl, who admitted she lied about her age, turned out to be only 14, making their encounter a sexual crime. Despite statements from the girl and her mother begging the judge for leniency, Anderson was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years on probation. But that is the least of his problems. The liaison also landed…
Read MoreTX: Do sex offender laws do more harm than good?
(KYTX) — It’s a story that has gotten national attention — a 19-year-old Indiana teen forced to register as a sex offender after having sex with a girl he thought was of age. It turned out she was only 14. Now, many are asking if sex offender laws do more harm than good. With the click of a mouse, you can find out who the registered sex offenders are in your neighborhood. But while it may provide some peace of mind to the people living nearby, critics argue the registry should be reserved for…
Read MoreGeneral Comments August 2015
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of August 2015. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreValidity of sex offender residency restrictions under fire again
Suit against Arcadia says exclusion zones made it impossible for plaintiff to find housing The constitutionality of sex offender residency restrictions is under further scrutiny in Arcadia following a lawsuit filed Monday by attorney Janice Bellucci, president of California Reform Sex Offender Laws. The suit, which comes months after the state Supreme Court ruled that blanket residency restrictions in San Diego County were unconstitutional, is the first in what Bellucci promised to be a “series” against Los Angeles County. “They have terrible residency restrictions which we’ve estimated prohibit registered citizens…
Read MoreCalifornia RSOL Joins National RSOL in Seattle
California RSOL joined national RSOL this week at the National Conference for State Legilsators (NCSL) in Seattle. More than 5,000 elected officials, staff and lobbyists attended this annual event. It is the third year national RSOL has had a booth at the conference. “The NCSL conference provided us with unique opportunities to meet with legislators and their stafff in an informal setting,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “We provided them with important facts regarding registered citizens such as the low rate of re-offense.” During the conference, a hot topic…
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