A former Cape May business owner who claimed a 13-year-old boy, with whom he had a sexual encounter, lied about his age cannot use that as a defense at trial, Appellate Court judges decided May 31. Full Article Related http://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-unpublished/2017/a0741-15.html Grindr not liable for man’s sex encounter with minor, federal judge rules
Read MoreMonth: June 2017
OK: Two suspects identified in homicide of inmate at Oklahoma County jail
An inmate at the Oklahoma County jail who died in early February was the victim of a homicide, the first at the troubled facility in almost three years, an autopsy report shows. Two suspects already have been identified and are in custody, authorities said. … Windle had served time in prison for a 2003 attempted rape and indecent exposure. He was jailed in September after telling police he had been living in a Del City park since April 2014 and sleeping underneath a bridge. He was awaiting trial on two…
Read MoreCosby Trial Puts U.S. States’ Sex-Crime Prosecution Laws in Focus
The opening of Bill Cosby’s sex assault trial on Monday highlights a quirk of the U.S. legal system, in which standards vary widely from state to state on how much time prosecutors have to file criminal charges after an alleged assault. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Supreme Court asked to review McLean County sex offender issue
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to review a case against a Normal man to determine the constitutionality of Illinois’ rules mandating that sex offenders report all their internet activity to authorities. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Starting over – Task force examining sex offender laws
At the end of June, ____ ____ will mark the 20th anniversary of two life-changing milestones: the year he was convicted at 21 of sexually abusing a teenage girl, and two decades without an arrest for another sex offense. ____ spent 60 days in jail and served two years’ probation for aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 1997. His identity also was included on a statewide sex offender registry for 10 years. Removal from the registry made it easier for ____ to start over in the community. But in November 2011,…
Read MoreOverhaul of sexual offender registry is on right track
Once in a while, politicians in Sacramento get things right. The overhaul of the state’s sex offender registry proposed by Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Joel Anderson, R-San Diego, is one of those rare occurrences of a bipartisan solutions that works. Full Article
Read MoreIN: Man Exonerated After Serving More Than 25 Years for a Rape DNA Testing Proves He Didn’t Commit
A judge today granted a motion by the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office to dismiss the 1992 rape charges against William Barnhouse based on new DNA evidence proving Barnhouse’s innocence of the crime. With Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Arnold’s consent, the Innocence Project and the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at Indiana University McKinney persuaded a Delaware County court to reverse Barnhouse’s conviction on March 8, 2017 based on this new evidence. Further proceedings in the case were scheduled for May. Arnold’s decision to dismiss the indictment against Barnhouse, who has dealt…
Read MoreCanada: Officials advise Goodale to rethink plan of public sex offender database
Federal officials have advised Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to put the brakes on setting up a publicly accessible database of high-risk child sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: It Was a Miracle!
On the floor of the Senate yesterday, the Senate passed the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421). It was a miracle! It was the first time, after three unsuccessful attempts, that a legislative body approved a tiered registry bill. The miracle maker is the bill’s author, Senator Scott Wiener, who assumed authorship of the bill after its original author withdrew. It is Senator Wiener who saw and spoke the truth about the registry….how it is broken and bloated….so bloated that is has become useless. It is Senator Wiener who gathered the support…
Read MoreIs it Good Policy to Regulate the Passports of Sex Offenders?
The days of overseas travel may soon be over for Australia’s convicted child sex offenders. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she planned to introduce legislation that would cancel the passports of about 20,000 people on the national child sex offender register. The new legislation will “make Australia a world leader in protecting vulnerable children from child sex tourism,” according to the foreign minister’s office. Full article
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