LANSING — A panel of Michigan lawmakers questioned the constitutionality of a bill to allow criminal cases against people accused of molesting children decades ago, despite emotional testimony from alleged victims of a Norton Shores man. House Bill 4231 would retroactively remove all statute of limitations on first-degree criminal sexual conduct of a minor. In 2001, the Michigan Legislature eliminated the statute of limitations on first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which prior to that was six years. Full Article
Read MoreYear: 2015
Malaysia: Sex offender registry needed to monitor offenders
DAP lawmaker Zairil Khir Johari has called on the government to consider setting up a sex offender registry to monitor and restrict known sex offenders in the country. His call comes following the case of Malaysian student Nur Fitri Azmeer Nordin, 23, who was offered a second chance by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) to continue his studies once he returned home after serving a sentence in London for possessing paedophilia. Zairil said he was not against any efforts towards rehabilitating sex offenders, but was worried about others who would be studying alongside…
Read MoreFL: Couple found guilty of having sex on Florida beach
A jury Monday found a couple guilty of having sex on Bradenton Beach after only 15 minutes of deliberation. The convictions carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. ____ and ___ were charged with two counts each of lewd and lascivious behavior for having sex on a public beach on July 20, 2014.Video played in the courtroom during the 1- 1/2-day-long trial showed Alvarez moving on top of Caballero in a sexual manner in broad daylight. Witnesses testified that a 3-year-old girl saw them. Both ____ and ____ will…
Read MoreAUS: Sex offender registers don’t mean we can assume children are safe
The sexual abuse of children remains one of the most urgent and unremitting issues across the globe. The royal commission into sexual abuse of children in institutions has given currency to an entrenched and critical social problem. However, our newly published research into Australia’s first publicly accessible register of sex offenders highlights the dangers of public misunderstanding of how it works and, indeed, of where the risks for children are greatest. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments May 2015
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of May 2015. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreCalif. Supreme Court Ruling Reveals Unintended Consequences of Jessica’s Law
Child welfare advocates sounded the alarm earlier this month when the California Supreme Court issued its opinion on In re: William Taylor, a case involving housing restrictions imposed on certain paroled sex offenders in San Diego County that has been weaving its way through the judicial system for years. Full Article Related: Residency restrictions loosened on sex offenders (Napa Valley Register)
Read MorePrediction of dangerousness, length of treatment, and psychological damage
As many of you might realize from my writing that I have a real problem with the pseudoscience of psychiatry and psychology. Especially when it comes to constitutional values and allowing the government to control the thinking of the populace through the questionable methods of mind control, which is in fact, what behavior modification programs are. It’s one thing if someone goes into these programs of their own free will, because they want to make changes. It’s another thing for the government to force them into them. This is especially…
Read MoreAre sex offenders attending your child’s school? It’s legal
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —When parents drop their children off at school, they might know who else is in the classroom — but KCRA 3’s investigative team has found your child might be sharing a class with a convicted sex offender. Some parents may never know. These offenders don’t show up on the Megan’s Law website or anywhere on the Internet, and by law, the schools can’t tell you who they are. Full Article
Read MoreWhy You Can’t Trust the Nation’s Frequently Inaccurate, Terribly Organized Sex Offender Registries
Just in time for the all-important May sweeps period, a local television anchor somewhere is bound to open a newscast with a question specifically designed to simultaneously titillate and scare the crap out of you. “Does a pedophile live on your block?” the menacing voice will intone. “Are your children safe?” The answer, invariably, is “probably” and “probably not.” If you tune in, you’ll confront a terrifying graphic that the station’s self-glorifying “investigative reporter” has cooked up showing a map crowded with dots. Each one, you’ll be told, represents a…
Read MoreBob Dyer: Are sex offenders ruined for life?
Well, here’s something new. How about an 85-year-old woman from a small Wayne County town rushing to the defense of a convicted sex offender she doesn’t even know? And how about that same sex offender agreeing to sit down for an interview with the Beacon Journal just days after a thorough public shaming? Full OpEd Piece
Read MoreSecondhand Pariah: A Plea for Empathy from the Girlfriend of a Sex Offender
One morning in January of 2014 my life changed forever. Out of nowhere, seven highly militarized FBI agents wielding guns and a search warrant raided the home that I shared with my partner. Barely awake, I couldn’t believe what was happening. Then we discovered his charges: possession and distribution of child pornography. He is not a monster; he is not even attracted to children. While he was on a torrent site looking for music to download, he came across pornographic images that he thought he’d check out, against his better…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Assembly Member Brough Withdraws AB 201 [UPDATED]
Update May 4: California RSOL has confirmed that AB 201 was withdrawn by its author from consideration by the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee. As a result, AB 201 will not be voted on this year on the floor of the Assembly. It is possible, however, that AB 201 could be amended and considered in 2016. — It was a long drive home yesterday after the Assembly Local Government Committee passed AB 201 by a vote of 5 to 0. A six hour drive is a six hour drive, but yesterday…
Read MoreUK: Number of convicted sex offenders in jail reaches record high
The number of convicted sex offenders in prison has reached record levels, with nearly a fifth of prisoners in England and Wales now serving time for a sexual offence. New data from the Ministry of Justice revealed there were just under 11,600 sentenced sex offenders at the end of March, with 779 additional sex criminals compared with a year earlier, a 7 per cent increase. It means 17 per cent of the sentenced prison population is now a sex offender, compared with just 10 per cent at the turn of…
Read MoreTX: North Dallas Mom Invites Sex Offenders To Tea
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – Sex offenders may be the last people you’d invite into your home. However, a North Dallas woman hosted a sex offender tea for three men on the sex offender registry. “We have to talk about this in polite society, and what’s more polite than tea?” asks Judy Safern. She also invited friends and neighbors over for the gathering and had plenty of them RSVP with an adamant NO! Full Article
Read MoreAssembly Local Government Committee passes AB 201
*** Please read Janice’s Journal: Courage and Effort do Pay Off… *** Despite testimony from ACLU and California RSOL, a second legislative committee today approved a bill (AB 201) that would allow cities and counties to pass laws prohibiting registered citizens from being present in or near public and private places. Ten individuals, including registered citizens, also testified in opposition to that bill. The Assembly Local Government Committee approved the bill in a vote of 5 to 0. One member of the committee, Richard Gordon (Democrat, Los Altos), abstained from…
Read MoreIA: Mother sentenced to prison for leaving kids with sex offender
SIOUX CITY | A Pierson, Iowa, woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for living with a known sex offender and leaving her 6-year-old twin sons with him. ____ ____, 36, pleaded guilty in Woodbury County District Court to two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Welcome to Pariahville
When you are a registered sex offender in America, you lose the right to choose where you want to live. By law. Your backstory doesnt matter. Nor does the nature of your crime or your excuse. You are exiled from society, and only a few places will welcome you. Like this place in South Florida. The City of Refuge. Jay Kirk reports on life in an American community—yes, that’s definitely the right word—like no other. Full Article
Read MoreSB 267 – New Hearing Date: Tuesday, May 12
The Senate Public Safety Committee has delayed its consideration of SB 267 by two weeks. The new hearing date for that bill is May 12. No reason has been given for the delay. The Assembly Local Government Committee is still scheduled to hear AB 201 on April 29 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 447 of the State Capitol. Both bills, if passed, would allow cities and counties to pass “presence restrictions” that could prohibit registered citizens from being present in or near both public and private places.
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