[fosters.com] CONCORD — After enduring years of sexual and physical abuse as a child, a New Hampshire woman moved out of state and far away from those traumatic events. But then she heard her perpetrator was trying to get off a sex offender list so he could get free housing. The state hadn’t told her about that, and she said she began to feel victimized again. The experience prompted her to join a campaign Tuesday to bolster the rights of crime victims by amending New Hampshire’s constitution. The Associated Press…
Read MoreMonth: January 2018
FL: Another Reason why Sex Offender Registration Fees are a Bad Idea
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Sex offender registration fees are a bad idea. Setting aside the constitutionality of charging individuals for the “privilege” of registering as a sex offender – something that’s not only involuntary but that all would certainly prefer not to do – and claiming it’s not a “penalty”, it’s a logistical nightmare. Because of the public website and the stigma that comes with it, most registered sex offenders are either grossly underemployed or unemployed. Many of the collateral consequences of being a registrant are extremely expensive. Registrants are required, in most…
Read MoreFL: Inside the isolated US community dubbed the ‘Miracle Village’
[dailymail.co.uk] From the outside it looks like any sleepy suburb, but the so-called ‘Miracle Village’ contains a much darker secret. Indeed, half of the population in the Florida community are registered sex offenders, who are forced to live away from the rest of society. The so-called village, located outside of Pahokee, features in a new BBC documentary presented by Stacey Dooley looking at laws in the state that punish paedophiles and other sex offenders for life. Read more
Read MoreWhat’s “unusual” is removal from the sex offender registry
[with-justiceforall.blogspot.com] Kaitlin Durbin has written a touching story about a young man, David, who has been on the Colorado sex offender registry for over a decade for consensual teenage sex with his girlfriend. She tells, briefly, some of the difficulties that public registration posed for him in his attempts to live a normal life, and she shares his relief and joy that he has now successfully been removed. The title given the piece — and writers and journalists seldom select their own titles — is “Colorado Springs man removed from…
Read MoreCA: Coalinga State Hospital locked down in sex offender dispute
[abc30.com] A California state psychiatric hospital, housing mostly sexually violent predators, has been locked down and visits canceled after a weekend protest over a crackdown on devices, like flash drives, that officials say are often used to smuggle child pornography. The patients at Coalinga State Hospital were protesting new restrictions on electronic devices, Department of State Hospitals spokesman Ralph Montano said Tuesday, but no injuries were reported. Department officials have cited lawsuit testimony asserting that there is a “porn epidemic” at Coalinga to justify the crackdown. At least 200 Coalinga…
Read MoreCA: As small riots rage at Coalinga State Hospital, details begin to emerge
[fresnobee.com] Patients at Coalinga State Hospital remained on lockdown Tuesday as a few details began to emerge about violent protests that have erupted since new rules restricting the use of personal electronic devices were put into place. Since it started this lockdown, the California Department of State Hospitals has released little information on what caused the lockdown, how that cause is being addressed or how long it will be in place and did not respond to The Bee’s questions by deadline Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that Department…
Read MoreNew DOJ Report Demonstrates Stunning Disingenuity on Cases Involving Sexual Exploitation of Children
A recent bombshell report from the Department of Justice claims that the number of people prosecuted in federal court for commercial sexual exploitation of children roughly doubled between 2004 and 2013. Full Article
Read MoreOrange passports for India’s migrant workers create ‘second class citizens’
[reuters.com] MUMBAI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – India’s plan to introduce orange-colored passport jackets for some migrant workers is discriminatory and could increase the vulnerability of workers often duped by middlemen who promise them jobs, said legal experts and campaigners. The Ministry of External Affairs said last week migrant workers who need emigration clearance – those who have not passed 10th grade at school – to travel to a group of 18 countries, mostly in the Gulf region, would soon be issued orange passports. “Passport holders with ECR (Emigration Check Required)…
Read MoreTX: Sex offender residency restrictions questioned in small cities
[floridaactioncommittee.org] AUSTIN — Registered sex offenders in small Texas cities were until last year challenging residence restrictions, arguing that “general-law” municipalities lacked authority to control where they lived. A new state law that took effect in September codified small cities’ legal standing to enact such ordinances, but now the attorney who in 2015 sued Krum over its ordinance is back in court, saying that the Denton County city’s newly enacted residence restriction, along with those of several other Texas cities, violates the statute. “If they’ve passed a new ordinance and…
Read MoreSamoa passes law enforcement only Sex offender registry
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Samoa just passed a sex offender registry. There are two important differences, however, between theirs (and most other countries that have a registry) and the US. Firstly, the registry and accompanying requirements will not be imposed retroactively against those who are not in custody as of it’s enactment. and secondly, the registry is for law enforcement only. Read more
Read MoreAmerican children’s high mortality rates; sex offenders are not the cause [opinion]
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The UK Daily Mail reported last week that “American children are 60% more likely to die before their 20’s than kids in other wealthy countries.” But how can that be? For a nation that prides itself on being pioneers in public health and safety, how is it that our youth are not as healthy or safe as they are in most other countries? In fact; the article pointed out that the US has the worst childhood mortality rate compared to 19 other developed countries with children of all ages…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Murder at the Hands of Vigilantes
It happened again. Another CA registrant was murdered by vigilantes for no reason other than he was required to register as a sex offender. This horror began when four men went shopping together to buy pliers and bolt cutters, common tools later used to torture and kill a registrant. A 61-year-old man who had paid his debt to society and was living peacefully in the community. The men used the pliers they bought to break into the registrant’s home. It is not known, but can only be imagined, how they…
Read MoreCA: Coalinga State Hospital said to be on lockdown, but no official confirmation given
Trash-littered hallways, jammed doors, broken windows and clogged sewage are problems reported at Coalinga State Hospital, which is being described as having “riot-like conditions,” according to emails sent to The Bee. On Monday morning, the hospital said it could not confirm if the facility was on lockdown, but that more information would be available Tuesday. The hospital has1,286 beds, according to its website. Of that, 941 patients, or 73 percent of the population in 2016, are classified as sexually violent predators. Full Article Related http://kmph.com/news/local/coalinga-state-hospital-under-lockdown-following-protest-by-patients https://www.facebook.com/KMPHFOX26/posts/10157163869879012
Read MoreCA: 4 men charged with killing Redondo Beach sex offender during home-invasion robbery
[dailybreeze.com] Four South Bay men were charged Friday with killing and robbing a registered sex offender, strangling him and attacking him with pliers and bolt cutters when he got out of his shower in his Redondo Beach apartment. The charges make them eligible for the death penalty. The victim, __________, 61, died Nov,. 28, five years after he was sent to prison for drugging a young male friend, shaving his body hair and sexually assaulting him in that same shower area amid allegations he had molested more than a dozen other…
Read MoreProfessor Catherine Carpenter: The Unconstitutionality of Sex Offense Laws [video]
[www.sfc.edu] Professor Catherine Carpenter (Southwestern Law School), a nationally renowned criminal law scholar in the area of sex crimes and sex offender registration laws, came to St. Francis College on September 26 to talk about The Unconstitutionality of Sex Offense Laws. Watch Catherine Carpenter on Sex Offender Laws Her scholarship has been cited by numerous courts and used as a guide by attorneys; she is also one of the foremost authorities on law school curricula and accreditation. Among her important law review articles is, “Against Juvenile Sex Offender Registration.” The…
Read MoreMA: Westfield moves to repeal unconstitutional sex offender ordinance
[masslive.com] By Hope E. Tremblay Special to The Republican WESTFIELD – The City Council’s legislative and ordinance subcommittee Thursday took the first step toward repealing a local ordinance that unconstitutionally restricts where registered sex offenders may live or visit. The motion to repeal the ordinance was made by Chairman Ralph J. Figy, who said a decision by the state Supreme Judicial Court indicates the ordinance goes against the state constitution. First Assistant City Solicitor Shanna R. Reed said Westfield has not received any notification from the state regarding the ordinance,…
Read MoreNH: Bill would use sex offender registry to discourage posting of nude selfies
[unionleader.com] CONCORD — In the wake of a report in the New Hampshire Sunday News about a website where nude selfies of young women are traded like baseball cards, the legislature is looking at tougher penalties to discourage such behavior. A House committee on Wednesday debated a bill that would add people convicted of revenge porn, or any nonconsensual dissemination of private sexual images, to the sex offender registry. Rep. Timothy Lang, R-Sanbornton, speaking in support of the bill, said the women whose nude or semi-nude pictures are disseminated online…
Read MoreCA: Child trafficking is nonviolent crime under California voter-approved law
[kcra.com] Crime victims, groups start petition to stop early release of violent criminals Mike Luery Reporter Show Transcript SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — Petition gatherers hit the streets of Sacramento on Thursday, trying to collect enough signatures for a new ballot measure that gets tough on crime. “In current law, rape by intoxication and rape of an unconscious person and a slew of other crimes are not considered violent for our state,” said Beth Hassett, executive director of WEAVE, or Woman Escaping a Violent Environment. WEAVE is a central player in…
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