It has happened at last! A tiered registry bill has been introduced in the state legislature. Before looking at the substance of the bill (Senate Bill 695), it is important to look at those who are offering and supporting it. The bill’s authors are two powerful members of the state Senate — Senator Ricardo Lara, who chairs the Appropriations Committee and Holly Mitchell, who chairs the Budget Committee. The bill’s sponsor is the most powerful district attorney in California, Jackie Lacey of Los Angeles. And the initial supporters of the…
Read MoreMonth: February 2017
Tiered Registry Bill Introduced as Senate Bill 695
Senator Ricardo Lara introduced today a tiered registry bill (Senate Bill 695). If passed by the legislature and signed by Governor, the bill would create three tiers that would allows most registrants who do not re-offend to lawfully end their requirement to register in either 10 or 20 years. The remaining registrants would still be required to register for a lifetime. “We have just received a copy of this bill and have not yet had time to compare it to the draft bill distributed a few months ago,” stated ACSOL…
Read MoreCongressman Sensenbrenner Reintroduces Bill to Stop the Sexual Exploitation of Children
Today, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner reintroduced the Adam Walsh Reauthorization Act, which would allow the protections of the Adam Walsh Protection and Safety Act to continue saving the lives of children throughout the nation. Full Article
Read MoreCA Sex Offender Management Board Discusses Revisions to Tiered Registry Bill
Although the tiered registry bill has not yet been introduced in the state legislature, members of the CA Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) discussed today possible significant revisions to that bill. The deadline for the bill to be introduced is Friday, February 17. First, CASOMB recommends that the bill be revised to allow some, but not all, individuals assigned to Tier 3 to petition for removal from the registry after 20 years. This opportunity would be limited to individuals whose offenses are Tier 1 or Tier 2 offenses, but who…
Read MoreMO: Swan files bill to bar sex offenders from children’s museums, zoos
An incident in which a sex offender visited Cape Girardeau’s Discovery Playhouse children’s museum prompted state Rep. Kathy Swan to file legislation to bar sex offenders from that museum and others. Registered sex offenders would be prohibited from being within 500 feet of any museum, zoo or “other location with the primary purpose of entertaining or educating children” younger than 18 years of age under legislation introduced by Swan. Full Article Related Bill Text MI: Court voids state sex offender registry for imposing unconstitutionally retroactive punishment [UPDATED]
Read MoreWV: West Virginia rejects juvenile sex offender registration
West Virginia’s highest court has ruled that juveniles judged delinquents for sex offenses don’t have to register as sex offenders when they turn 18. The registration requirement applies to any person convicted of sex offenses. The court says under West Virginia law those delinquency adjudications are not convictions. Full Article Opinion
Read MoreWant to Make a Lie Seem True? Say It Again. And Again. And Again
YOU ONLY USE 10 percent of your brain. Eating carrots improves your eyesight. Vitamin C cures the common cold. Crime in the United States is at an all-time high. None of those things are true. But the facts don’t actually matter: People repeat them so often that you believe them. Welcome to the “illusory truth effect,” a glitch in the human psyche that equates repetition with truth. Marketers and politicians are masters of manipulating this particular cognitive bias—which perhaps you have become more familiar with lately. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Teen Girl Sent Teen Boy 5 Inappropriate Pictures. He Faced Lifetime Registry as a ‘Violent Sex Offender’ or 350 Years in Jail.
Zachary, now 19, is in jail awaiting sentencing for five pictures his teenage girlfriend sent him of herself in her underwear. He faced a choice between a possible (though unlikely) maximum sentence of 350 years in prison, or lifetime on the sex offender registry as a “sexually violent offender”—even though he never met the girl in person. Here’s what happened. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Court Strikes Sex Offender Park Ban
An Illinois appeals court ruled that a state law making it a crime for convicted sex offenders to set foot in public parks is unconstitutional because it can punish innocent conduct. Full Article Opinion
Read MoreIA: Aging sex offenders have nowhere to go, Iowa prison director says
That’s because finding places for elderly sex offenders to live after they’ve served their time in prison is very difficult, Bartruff said Monday during a community forum in Coralville. Iowa recently had three sex offenders who had served their time, but because they had no place to go, died behind bars. Full Article
Read MorePA: 2016 Crime Review – A look at the effectiveness of sex offender registries
It may run counter to conventional wisdom, but it is exceedingly rare for a person registered as a sex offender to be charged with a new sexual offense in Cumberland County. Of the 75 charged sex crime cases in Cumberland County in 2016, only two were committed by a person listed on the sex offender registry, according to an analysis of court records conducted by The Sentinel. Full Article
Read MoreIndia: Sex offender registries don’t work (Opinion)
Last month, Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi once again reiterated the need to set up a national sex offender registry after a convicted sex offender allegedly confessed to raping hundreds of girls for over 10 years in New Delhi. These registries are not a novel suggestion. They have been operational in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and a few other English-speaking countries for more than a decade. Full Opinion
Read MoreTN: Area law enforcement monitoring sex offender activity on social media
Keeping your kids safe from sex offenders in public is one thing but what about when it comes to the vast world of the internet where anyone can be lurking? Law enforcement in our region are working for you, to monitor sex offenders online and give you peace of mind. Full Article
Read MoreWhat In The World Are “Traveling Pedophiles”?
I read an interesting article regarding NJ Rep. Chris Smith, author of the International Megan’s Law ,which has just completed it’s first year in existence. According to Smith who met with a delegation from Thailand which included Ambassador Pisan Manawapal and representatives for the Royal Thai Police, gratitude for the law was expressed. Purportedly 160 convicted sex offenders tried to enter Thailand during the past year. Worldwide 1,780 notifications of “pedophile travel” were sent to 64 countries, particularly those known to be destinations for child sex tourism. Full Editorial
Read MorePA: Pennsylvania residents will need more than a driver’s license to fly in US next year
Starting Jan. 22, 2018, Pennsylvania residents will need more than just a driver’s license to travel domestically. Driver’s licenses from the Keystone State are currently not compliant with the federal government’s Real ID Act which set tougher standards for IDs to improve security in 2005. Full Article
Read MoreAZ: Supreme Court – Bail denial for child sex offenses is unconstitutional
PHOENIX — State laws that deny bail to people solely because they’re accused of having sex with a minor are unconstitutional, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled today. The justices acknowledged arguments by prosecutors that trial judges have the right to keep certain people behind bars while awaiting trial as a method of protecting the public. And they said that the crime of sexual conduct with a minor is a series charge. But Justice Clint Bolick, writing for the unanimous court, said the seriousness of the charge, by itself, is insufficient…
Read MoreInternational Megan’s Law: One Year Later
One year to the date of its enactment, Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) reports that the International Megan’s Law is already having the intended effect of reducing the threat of child sex tourism. Smith, who authored the bill, met today with a delegation from Thailand who expressed deep gratitude for the enactment of the law. During the meeting, Ambassador Pisan Manawapat, joined by representatives from the Royal Thai Police force, indicated that in Thailand alone, over 160 convicted sex offenders were caught trying to enter the country. Worldwide reports indicate…
Read MoreCO: Englewood may overhaul sex offender residency rules after law makes nearly the entire city off limits
Englewood city leaders on Monday readied a major overhaul to a decade-old law that severely restricts where sex offenders can live in this city of 32,000 south of Denver. Full Article
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