After wrenching testimony that included accounts from three alleged victims of comedian Bill Cosby, a Senate committee on Tuesday gave its first approval to a bill that would allow sex crimes to be prosecuted no matter how long ago they occurred. Full Article SB 813 Leyva – Justice for Victims Act – Press Conference 4-12-16
Read MoreMonth: April 2016
Living with 290: If I had been straight
My experiences with 290 have shown me that contrary to everything I have ever believed, our law enforcement and judicial systems are both corrupt and unjust. Allow me to share my story, albeit a bit lengthy. I am an older gay male raised in a time when it was still considered mental illness. So I have not been open or out about my sexuality with the exception of some family and very close friends. If you were to meet me you would never know that I am gay. I’ve lived…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Don’t give up
I have been really touched by all the Story’s and family tragedy’s I have read here! I think you are all brave for sharing your stories. I can relate to all of you and I can relate to the negatives! I was always on the other side looking in, until it happened to me! I am from San Francisco, and 25 years ago, I was a San Francisco Police officer. And one night changed my life forever and in one hour of stupidity! I am now a RSO! I have…
Read MoreWI: Cottage Grove man admits setting fire to sex offender’s future home
MADISON (WKOW) — A Cottage Grove man Monday admitted to setting fire to the future home of a sex offender, and was convicted of felony arson. 51-year old Russell Speigle will be sentenced next month. The crime carries a maximum sentence of forty years. But a plea agreement between Speigle and the Dane County district attorney’s office involves prosecutors asking for no more than one year in jail for Speigle. Full Article Related WI: Man arrested on suspicion of burning house intended for sex offender
Read MoreAre Sex Offenders White?
There’s a striking difference between the sex offender featured in most journalism, activist campaigns and popular media and the guy who’s usually the focus of criminal justice attention. The latter is usually a person of color. The sex offender is portrayed as white. But is the sex offender really white? Full Article
Read MoreNE: State appeals decision barring state from adding boy to state’s sex offender list
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska’s attorney general is appealing a federal judge’s decision to block the state from putting a 13-year-old boy who moved to Nebraska from Minnesota on its public list of sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Florida sex offender registry: double-digit growth
More than a dozen people a day walk into the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and register as sex offenders. The county is home to more than 2,200 of them. A recent study by researchers at the Florida Legislature found that the number of registered sex offenders living in Florida communities has increased 44 percent over the past 10 years. Full Article Related Fla. sex offenders figures announced, pushes surroundings awareness
Read MoreInternational Travel after IML
Discussion for the effects on IML on International Travel is to go here, since some of the other discussion threads have become inappropriate in topic or too large. We will move some of the more recent comments here. Please be sure to also see International Travel – Mexico International Travel – China / Thailand International Travel Experiences International Megan’s Law – International Travel Action Group International Travel Tag: International Travel
Read MoreDon’t Just Get Kids Off the Sex Offender Registry. Abolish It (Opinion)
Recently the New Yorker published a major article about juvenile “sex offenders.” The story, by staff writer Sarah Stillman, is far ranging, moving and important. Stillman writes about many young people who were caught doing anything from playing doctor to sexually coercing another person (usually another child). Convicted for sex crimes, some of these youth are incarcerated and subject to lifelong sex offender registration—a kind of social death sentence. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreWA: Supreme Court – Records of low-level sex offenders are public
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington’s Supreme Court says information about low-level sex offenders can be released under the state Public Records Act. The 7-1 decision Thursday overturns a King County Superior Court holding that found the records were not subject to disclosure. The ruling came in a case involving Donna Zink, a Franklin County woman who requested a copy of the Washington State Patrol’s sex-offender database. Full Article Opinion
Read MoreFL: Concerning the Registrants at the Tracks
As mentioned in a prior post; the ACLU filed it’s Appellate Brief on behalf of FAC and the 200+ registered citizens living alongside the railroad tracks at the corner of 79th Street and NW 36th Avenue in Miami. Derek Logue of OnceFallen.com, who had traveled to Florida last week and visited the encampment initiated a post to which FAC replied. Since our reply contained a lot of information and could possibly be an action item for anyone (or group of people) who want to help these people, we’ve re-posted the…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Without an answer
I know that I posted this earlier in the general comments. Someone suggested that it should have gone under, living with 290. So for those of you who have already read this, I’m sorry. I have tried to edit this and make some changes. But I have done all of this on my phone, so I ask that you excuse me. I really don’t know how to tell this story, so I will simply start from the beginning. You will have to forgive me for my grammar is essentially non…
Read MoreIL: ACLU, EFF ask state supreme to strike down limits on free speech in cumbersome sex offender laws
CHICAGO – The ACLU of Illinois, joined by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, today asked the state supreme court to strike down the “incredibly broad scope” of limitations contained in the state’s sex offender registry laws. The amicus brief was filed in the case of ____ ____, a young man from downstate Normal who served a 12-month probation for a misdemeanor offense, which he completed. Though years have passed, Mr. ____ still is forced to navigate a series of onerous and cumbersome requirements under the State’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). Full Article
Read MoreAL: Pastor wins round in freedom of religion lawsuit
A Chilton County pastor has won a round in his federal lawsuit challenging a state law that ended his residential ministry for sex offenders. U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins on Wednesday denied the state’s requests to dismiss the claims by Ricky Martin, who sued in 2014. Full Article
Read MoreEmotional Support Group to Meet on April 15 [cancelled]
UPDATE: This meeting has been cancelled. Please check this web site for new date. The Emotional Support Group will meet at a different time and at a difference place in April. The meeting, which supports both registrants and their loved ones, will be held on Friday, April 15, beginning at 7 p.m. The new meeting place is 2001 Barrington Avenue, Suite 211, Los Angeles 90025. CA RSOL board member Alex Gittinger will lead the meeting as he has all prior Emotional Support Group meetings. The Emotional Support Group meetings began…
Read MoreAZ: Ducey signs bill ending some sex offender registration
PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has signed legislation allowing some offenders convicted of sexual conduct with a minor to ask a judge to end their need to register as a sex offender. Ducey signed House Bill 2539 by Republican Rep. Rusty Bowers on Tuesday. The legislation only applies to people convicted for an offense committed when they were 21 or younger, where the victim was between 15 and 17 years old and the sex was consensual. Full Article
Read MoreChallenge to “Scarlet Letter” travel law moves forward
Last week a federal judge heard the first arguments in a lawsuit challenging certain provisions of the recently-enacted International Megan’s Law (IML),* including one mandating that the passport of any American required to register for a sex offense involving a minor be marked in “a conspicuous location” with a “unique identifier” of their sex offender status. Other challenged provisions of the law authorize the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice to notify destination nations of forthcoming visits from those individuals. On Wednesday the court heard a motion for a preliminary…
Read MoreCO: New teen sexting crime falls short in Colorado House
DENVER – A proposal to ratchet back criminal penalties for teens exchanging nude images of themselves has failed in the state Legislature. Democrats voted against the bill in a House committee Tuesday, and it failed by a single vote. Opponents worried that making the crime less serious would mean that some teen couples swapping consensual nude photos could be charged with the less serious crime. Full Article Related Why These Proposed Sexting Laws for Teens Are Totally Missing the Point
Read More