California is one of only four states that require adults convicted of certain sex crimes to register with local law enforcement each year for life. Crime-free for 50 years? Bedridden? It doesn’t matter. This lifetime requirement has turned California’s registry into the largest in the country. There are roughly 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., and around 100,000 of them live in California. Full Article
Read MoreYear: 2015
Janice’ Journal: Behind the Orange Curtain
Orange County continues to be the epicenter for laws that both violate the civil rights of registered citizens as well as decrease public safety. The latest attempt comes in the form of a bill introduced in Sacramento by Assemblyman William Brough of Dana Point (AB 201). If it becomes law, the bill would allow cities and counties to pass any law they wished to restrict where a registered citizen could visit. That could return us all to the former Land of Oz where a registered citizen could legally walk on…
Read MoreID: Bill would add violent criminals to sex offender registry
BOISE — An Idaho legislative panel is considering a bill to add people convicted of violent crimes – such as murder, kidnapping and felony domestic violence – to the state’s sex offender registry. The House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to consider expanding the registry to include violent offenders. Full Article
Read More‘It’s about the safety of kids’: Dana Point lawmaker’s bill would ban sex offenders from parks
Orange County’s ban on sex offenders in parks, declared illegal by appellate judges last year, has a new backer: a proposed bill in the state Assembly that would allow cities to enforce restrictions on such criminals. The bill from state Assemblyman Bill Brough, R-Dana Point, aims to prohibit sex offenders from going to parks and beaches without written permission from the sheriff or local police chief. The bill’s co-authors include Assemblyman Matthew Harper, R-Huntington Beach. “At the end of the day, it’s about the safety of kids,” said Brough, a…
Read MorePeaceful Protest to be held in the City of Carson on March 7
California RSOL will lead a peaceful protest in the City of Carson on Saturday, March 7, in order to highlight the harm done by the city’s sex offender ordinance. That ordinance bans registered citizens from being present in or within 300 feet of public places including the library, parks and swimming pools as well as private places including fast food restaurants that have a children’s playground. The peaceful protest will begin at Carson City Hall at 10 a.m. near the water fountain. Registered citizens, family members, and all who support…
Read MoreChild porn restitution bill passes Senate, sets minimum damages for victims
A bill named for two women whose childhood images were turned into heinous pornography was handily passed in the Senate on Wednesday. The Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act was approved by a 98-0 vote. The measure gives hope to victims that they will finally be able to win major compensation from any single person who illegally viewed, made or distributed their images. Victims of child pornography and other sexual exploitation “ought to have access to full restitution from any single perpetrator for their losses,” said Senate…
Read MoreNY: Court of Appeals voids sex offender laws
ALBANY — The state’s highest court ruled Tuesday that state law restricting the residency of registered sex offenders supersedes local and county laws, rendering them obsolete. The 5-0 decision by the Court of Appeals marked defeat for Nassau County and any other municipality in New York state hoping to restrict the offenders to within certain distances of schools, parks, playgrounds, daycare centers and other places where children are likely to be. Full Article
Read MoreMany sex offenders killed in California prison
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Shortly after 2 a.m. on April 6, 2010, a guard at Salinas Valley State Prison noticed ____ ____’s cellmate trying to stuff something under a mattress. It was ____, blood trickling from his mouth and a cloth noose tied around his neck. The convicted child molester died 10 days later without regaining consciousness, his death earning his cellmate a second life sentence. California state prisoners are killed at a rate that is double the national average — and sex offenders like ____ account for a disproportionate…
Read MoreHouse bill would require DOD to publish names of military sex offenders
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bipartisan bill introduced in the house Thursday would require the Department of Defense to create its own sex offender registry along with a Website to make the information available to the public. Full Article
Read MoreIA: Blue Grass woman finds her own address on sex offender registry, used without her knowledge
BLUE GRASS, Iowa (KWQC) — We hear about the sex offender registry when there is a change in the law or a big compliance check. But does it really hold offenders accountable? A Blue Grass woman says, not as much as you might expect. And her story hits close to home. She lives in an established neighborhood with nice houses fronted by big yards. You wouldn’t think a sex offender lived there. And as far as we know, one doesn’t. But for a little while this winter, Stefanie Mucha’s Valley…
Read MoreMI: Mom on mission for a public child abuse registry
… The proposed registry would be searchable by name, similar to the state’s sex offender registry. Specific details of the proposed child abuse registry have yet to be determined. But such a registry would give people another way to check whether someone has been convicted of child abuse, be it a new neighbor, a babysitter, someone who is dating an ex-spouse or someone who is marrying into the family. Full Article
Read MoreDigital Darkness and Silence for Sex Offenders in the Information Age
“Is my Furby a computer?” With five months in jail and eight months of parole behind him, and four years of probation to go, Trevor finds himself contemplating the artificial intelligence of a Furby, and its threat to his future. As a registered sex offender, Trevor must abide by a bewildering array of rules, regulations and restrictions. He was introduced to the maze upon parole: He wasn’t supposed to use a computer or the internet, but his parole officer didn’t initially inform him of these constraints. Ironically, he found out…
Read MoreFL: Sex offender had only one place to live – A parking lot
TAMPA — As a convicted sex offender, ____ ____ ____ was ordered to live in a small parking lot on Channelside Drive. For refusing to stay for more than a few weeks in the empty lot, ____ , 27, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison. On Friday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal reluctantly upheld ____ ’s punishment. “We are troubled by the fact that the terms of ____ ’s community control have rendered him homeless,” the court wrote. “This does not appear to facilitate the goals of…
Read MoreCity Council takes action on sex offender ordinance
Canyon Lake, CA – California has the highest rate of sexual offenders in the nation. The Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act, also known as Jessica’s Law, was passed by California voters on November 7, 2006. One of the major provisions of Proposition 83 limits where sex offenders may live. This measure prohibits any person required to register as a sex offender from living within 2,000 feet of any school or park. Full Article List of Presence Restrictions Lawsuits
Read MoreCritics of Carson’s sex offender laws say they are too strict
For Frank Lindsay, the city of Carson feels like an obstacle course whenever he visits his relatives. He makes sure to stay clear of all city parks. If he’s hungry, he avoids the local McDonald’s, which includes a playground for toddlers. The library, where children have reading time, is off-limits. So is the local mall, which has a play lighthouse for youngsters to climb. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Campbell – Sex offender bill would stir up angry mobs
HB1366 patroned by Del. Jeff Campbell, R-Marion, passed the House of Delegates recently, unanimously, with absolutely no discussion or debate and with very little notice by most Virginians. ***Article no longer online*** More at restoringintegritytovirginiaregistry
Read MoreAR: Sex Offender Registry – Address Debate
(KARK) — CONWAY, AR — An Arkansas advocacy group is fighting to get law enforcement agencies to remove the full addresses of sex offenders on websites. The group wants the numbers blocked, but not everyone is budging. Carla Swanson — with Arkansas Time after Time — sent out 900 letters to registered sex offenders with listed addresses on sheriffs’ websites. She says a couple hundred came back to her because the offender no longer lived there. Swanson says that proves the system isn’t very effective, but that’s not her only…
Read MoreNH: Supreme Court Rules That Retroactive, Lifetime Registration Requirement Is Unconstitutional As Applied To ACLU Client
CONCORD – In a victory for fundamental fairness, the New Hampshire Supreme Court held today that New Hampshire’s law requiring the registration of certain criminal offenders is unconstitutional as applied to an ACLU client because the law retroactively imposes lifetime restrictions on individuals who were convicted before these lifetime restrictions were enacted. Full Article Also see: N.H. Supreme Court: Disabled sex offender eligible to get off sex offender registry
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