Year: 2017

When you can legally have sex with a 17-year-old, can you be prosecuted for possessing lewd nude photos of her?

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From Commonwealth v. Kushmanick, which was decided last year by a Pennsylvania appellate court, but which I just came across last week (all quotes are from the opinion): 1. The facts: Kushmanick started dating S.C. when he was 18 or 19, and she was 16 (according to defendant, just a week shy of her 17th birthday). The age of consent for sexual activity generally in Pennsylvania is 16. (There is the possibility that someone may be prosecuted for “corrupting the morals of a minor” when the minor is 16 or 17,…

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Debate over sex offenders moves to court as California undertakes prison parole overhaul

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A Los Angeles-based nonprofit is claiming California prison officials have undermined last fall’s ballot measure to overhaul the state’s parole process by excluding sex offenders from consideration for early release. The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, which advocates for the rights of those convicted of sex crimes and their families, says the exemption — written into newly released guidelines to implement Proposition 57 — “impermissibly restricts and impairs the scope” of the initiative. Full Article

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Janice’s Journal: Next Two Weeks Could Make Huge Difference

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The next two weeks could make a huge difference in the lives of more than 100,000 registrants and their families. That difference could be a decision by the Senate Appropriations Committee to release the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421) from the committee’s Suspense File on May 25, the deadline for this action to be taken. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s decision will be based, in part, upon the budget analysis for SB 421. Therefore, it is important to understand what the analysis has to say. First, the budget analysis for SB…

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Living with 290: Does THIS part of PC 290 exist?

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I was just “in-person verified” by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Dept. today, and informed that PC 290 REQUIRES that each individual registrant have their registration verified IN PERSON TWICE YEARLY. Does ANYONE KNOW WHETHER THIS ANY PART OF PC 290 “REQUIRES” THIS? If so, please post a response. If not, please refer me to an attorney who I can contact that will SUE THIS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OUT OF EXISTENCE OVER THIS.

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Weiner will bear weight of sex offender laws he helped pass

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… Do you remember those committee hearings you attended on the Adam Walsh Act (a failed attempt to standardize the complexities of sex offender registration)? Hopefully you paid attention, because sex offender registration laws and compliance with such laws are far more complex than simply avoiding sending nude pics via the wrong phone app. You helped make sure that, over the past decade, registration laws became some of the most draconian laws known to man. Full Article Related http://abovethelaw.com/2017/05/anthony-weiner-pleads-guilty-will-have-to-register-as-a-sex-offender/

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Vigilantes Assault, Rob and Murder Registered Sex Offenders

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As repeatedly reported in Prison Legal News, for over a decade registered sex offenders have been targeted by vigilantes and assaulted, robbed and murdered due to their past crimes. And as noted in this issue’s cover story, that is part of the dark side of sex offender registries, which allow public access to offenders’ residential addresses and other personal information. Such information not only endangers registered sex offenders but also those who live with them and, in at least one case in Dallas, Texas, an innocent victim. That Dallas man, who was beaten…

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In-depth: California lawmakers consider bill that ends lifetime registration for certain sex offenders

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California lawmakers are considering a controversial bill that would end lifetime registration for certain sex offenders. Proponents of the bill say it would allow law enforcement to concentrate on high-risk offenders. Full Article Related http://kron4.com/2017/05/17/in-depth-why-arent-all-sex-offenders-listed-on-megans-law/ http://kron4.com/2017/05/16/in-depth-are-high-risk-sex-offenders-really-where-they-say-they-are/ http://kron4.com/2017/05/15/in-depth-what-happens-to-sex-offenders-in-violation-of-megans-law/

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WI: Bill Would Create Exemption for Wis. Sex Offender Registry

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– A bipartisan proposal creates an exemption to Wisconsin’s sex offender registry for teenagers ages 15 to 18 who are convicted after having consensual sex. State law makes it a crime for two people under the age of 18 to have sexual contact, regardless of consent. Republican Rep. Joel Kleefisch and Democratic Rep. Fred Kessler have written legislation that creates a new crime of “underage sexual activity” and lowers the offense from a felony to a misdemeanor. Other states have labeled it the “Romeo and Juliet” exemption. Full Article

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MO: Hundreds of Missouri sex offenders now required to wear GPS monitoring devices for life

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A sex offender from St. Charles County thought he had moved on with his life after successfully completing five years probation for sending web cam photographs of his genitals to an undercover police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl. Now he’s among hundreds of people in Missouri who are finding out they must attach GPS monitoring systems to their ankles for life, even though such a requirement wasn’t part of their sentencing agreement. Full Article

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SB 26 Added to Suspense File

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The Senate Appropriations Committee added Senate Bill 26 (SB 26) to its Suspense File during its hearing on May 15.  The Committee is expected to decide whether to keep SB 26 in that file during its final hearing on May 25.  If the bill is not removed from the Suspense File on that date, SB 26 can not move forward.         So far, SB 26 has been amended four times — on March 20, April 5, April 18 and May 20 — by its author Senator Connie Leyva.  As currently written, some registrants who are parents would…

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