NC: Gap in N.C. law allows sex offenders near schools, day cares

On Sept. 1, a registered sex offender will be breaking the law if he continues to work at a car repair shop that sits within 300 feet of the Boys & Girls Club of Cumberland County and a day-care center. A state law takes effect that day prohibiting sex offenders from being near places where children “frequently congregate” – including schools, parks, arcades and day care centers – when minors are present. Full Article

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MI: Court voids state sex offender registry for imposing unconstitutionally retroactive punishment [UPDATED]

UPDATED with media links – Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit held that recent amendments to Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA) are unconstitutional because they impose retroactive punishment on sex offenders in violation of the Constitution’s prohibition on ex post facto laws. Among other things, the plaintiffs argued that amendments to Michigan’s SORA increased the severity of its requirements after their convictions imposed retroactive punishment. In John Does #1-5 v. Snyder, the Sixth Circuit agreed. Full Article Decision Statement of Facts Oral Argument Related Media Articles Federal…

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Registrant Travel Action Group (RTAG) International Travel Matrix Update

The Travel Matrix is a list of nations along with information about how they handle entrance of visiting or moving registrants (Registered Sex Offenders) and their families. We compile this information from various sources including Travel Experience Reports submitted by users of this website. This list is kept as current and thorough as possible, but individual experiences may vary. This list is informational and in no way implies any guarantee. If you have information to contribute, please submit one or more Travel Experience Reports or contact us to share other…

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TX: Iowa Park city council turns down father’s plea for sex offender exemption

An Iowa Park man was turned down after asking the City Council on Monday night to consider an exemption to the code of ordinances. After recently writing a letter to the city of Iowa Park, James H. Pappas stood in front of the City Council and requested an exemption for his son, ___ ____, who is in his 60s and was convicted of having child pornography in Duluth, Minnesota. However, the City Council denied the exemption based on Texas state law. Councilwoman Sherrie Williams said, “We’d have to void the…

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CO: Legislature to blame for sentencing quandary (Opinion)

I feel compelled to respond to Chandler McCorkle’s guest opinion (“Judge failed rape victim, society,” Daily Camera, Aug. 14) because it proceeds from woefully erroneous assumptions about the nature of sex offense probation and sentencing. Ms. McCorkle states that the sentence means that sex offender probationary sentences do not carry “true repercussion(s),” and the judge’s sentence was “naïve [and] unthinkably stupid.” With all due respect, she could not be more wrong. Full Opinion Piece Original Opinion Piece

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IL: Sex Offender Pleads No Contest

52-year-old blind man, ____ ____ of South Roxana, was convicted in 2000 of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. ____ pleaded no contest Thursday to a violation of the state sex offender registration law. The violation comes after a police compliance check on Halloween of 2014. ____ was sitting just inside the front door of his living room as his step-daughter was handing out candy. State law prohibits registered sex offenders from distributing Halloween candy. ____ was sentenced with 12 months of conditional court supervision. Article

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WI: Sex offender ordinance hasn’t worked as planned, putting public at greater risk

Last summer, ____ ____ got a notice from the Milwaukee Police Department: He had to move out of his north side rental home. ____, a registered sex offender, hadn’t done anything to violate the terms of his sentence, which stemmed from groping a 13-year-old girl he met online when he was 19. In fact, ____ had stayed out of trouble since his conviction in 2002. The notice alerted ____ that a new Milwaukee ordinance had gone into effect, severely restricting where sex offenders can live. ____’ home was too close to…

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Janice’s Journal: Waiting for Justice

As summer comes to an end, we are waiting for justice. We are waiting for a judge’s decision in our challenge to the International Megan’s Law. We are waiting for cities to eliminate residency restrictions. We are waiting for a tiered registry bill to be introduced in the California state legislature. Why does it take so long? Why can’t judges, city officials and state legislators stop the punishment of registered citizens NOW? Perhaps it’s due to habit. For many people, including judges and elected officials, have adopted the habit of…

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MO: Decades after ‘lie’ puts dad on sex offender registry, he’s pardoned

____ ____, a Clay County father who has long denied that he was a sex offender who molested his own son, received a telephone call Friday that he has wanted for nearly half his life. The call was from the office of Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon. The news: ____ had been pardoned of the crime he said he never committed, and he was told his name would no longer appear on Missouri’s sex offender registry. Full Article

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Tustin City Council Begins Repeal of Residency Restrictions

The Tustin City Council, in a vote of 4 to 1, voted yesterday in favor of repealing the city’s residency restrictions which prohibit registered citizens from living in most of that city. The only “no” vote was cast by Mayor John Nielsen who did not explain his vote. This is the first of two steps required by the City Council to repeal the restrictions. The second step is expected to be taken at the next City Council meeting which is scheduled for September 6. “This is a significant victory for…

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WI: Pleasant Prairie under legal fire for sex offender ordinance

A federal judge has been asked to order the village of Pleasant Prairie to notify residents that it is temporarily not enforcing an ordinance that effectively banishes registered sex offenders from living in the village. A preliminary injunction was filed Friday on behalf of 10 registered sex offenders who are challenging the constitutionality of the ordinance. Their attorney, Mark Weinberg, said he filed the injunction request after village officials lacked the “political will” to post notice on the village’s website that the ordinance would not be enforced under the lawsuit…

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