Month: December 2018

Kat’s Blog: The Registry “Jingles” Away With Your Money

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The holidays, a time of giving. But for registrants, that “giving”, goes on all year. Registrants fork over payment for all sorts of fees all year long. Registry fees, polygraphs fees, assessments, “sex offender” treatment fees, etc. These fees are not inexpensive and if you are unfortunate enough to have to register in December and take a polygraph in December and pay for treatment in December, you’re left with empty pockets come Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Here’s an approximate total of the yearly “giving” cost for new registrants on probation:…

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AK: Cyrano’s Theatre Co. will drop an actor who is a registered sex offender after social media backlash

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[ktuu.com 12/11/18] A registered sex offender who performs with Cyrano’s Theatre Co. will no longer be acting with the company. Jenson Seifert lists Cyrano’s as his employer on the state’s sex offender registry. He is a former teacher at Birchwood Christian School who was charged, and later served time, for sexually abusing a minor. At the time, police accused him of molesting a 14-year-old boy repeatedly, including while he was a chaperoning a youth outing. Cyrano’s says Seifert has been a performer with the company for about a year and…

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Proposed 2019 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines [open to public comments!]

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[ussc.gov – 12/13/19] During a public meeting this morning, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to publish for comment proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines, including a proposal concerning how sentencing courts determine if a prior conviction is a “crime of violence” under the guidelines. (Read proposals and press release.) Today’s proposed amendment would enable the sentencing courts to consider the conduct that formed the basis of the offense of conviction as well as the elements of the statute of conviction. The Commission is requesting input on this proposal and the…

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ACSOL Emotional Support Group in L.A. on Sat, December 22

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ACSOL will conduct an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones on Saturday, December 22, beginning at 10 a.m. at: ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street Los Angeles Free parking is available under the building and there is no charge to attend the meeting. The meeting, which is based upon 12 Step principles, will provide registrants and their loved ones with an opportunity to discuss personal challenges. We look forward to seeing you there! Click here for a schedule of emotional support group meetings in 2018 (usually the…

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TX: Ex-Baylor frat president indicted on 4 counts of sex assault won’t go to prison

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[cnn.com – 12/11/18] Even though Jacob Walter Anderson was indicted on four counts of sexual assault, the ex-fraternity president won’t spend a single day in prison. Instead, a plea agreement allowed the former Baylor University student to plead no contest to a lesser charge of unlawful restraint. That means if the 24-year-old successfully completes three years of deferred probation and pays a $400 fine, his criminal record will be wiped clean of the charge, CNN affiliate KWKT said. Anderson will have to complete alcohol, drug and psychological treatment plans. But…

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AZ: Human Trafficking Grant Goes to Arrest Suspected Victims in Tucson

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[reason.com – 12/10/18] A Tucson Weekly investigation finds that federal funds to “fight sex trafficking” are actually perpetuating it. The program raked in $1.5 million from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its first year. Its mission: to disrupt human trafficking and help the crime’s victims in southeastern Arizona. Instead, Southern Arizona’s Anti-Trafficking Unified Response Network (SAATURN) largely engaged in arresting and prosecuting sex workers, including some suspected of being victims of sexual exploitation. We know this thanks to some solid investigative work from Tucson Weekly. Last week’s cover story…

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SCOTUS: Who Gets to Define the Crime?

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Agencies have to interpret statutes to carry out the work of the administrative state. But in the hands of federal prosecutors, does interpretation amount to defining the crime itself? Herman Gundy believes that is what happened to him. In a case before the U.S. Supreme Court this term, Gundy v. United States, Gundy is challenging his conviction for failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act (SORNA). Failing to register is a federal felony. Full Article

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Kat’s Blog: There’s No Making Sense of Residency and Presence Restrictions

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Registrants receive mixed messages when trying to make sense of the registry’s Residency & Presence Regulations. If you haven’t already, try reading the updated (Sept. 2018) State & Territorial Registration Laws Concerning Visiting & Temporary Residence by Adults. Then read your individual state’s registry rules. It’s like trying to read the newspaper without reading glasses. While state boundary lines may be bold and clear, everything else is small print, blurred and causes a headache. Every state is different. In some cases every town is different. There are states with no…

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Trump signs Hatch-sponsored child pornography victim assistance law

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[deseretnews.com – 12/7/18] Child pornography victims could have better access to federal restitution under a bipartisan bill President Donald Trump signed into law Friday. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a key sponsor of the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, called the signing a “momentous” day that was many years in the making. “This bipartisan legislation will provide meaningful assistance for child pornography victims to support their recovery and allow them to reclaim their lives. I am proud of this legislation and look forward to seeing it change…

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CT: Commission Considers Changes to State Sex-Offender Registry

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Connecticut is steps closer to potentially changing the way the state’s sex-offender registry is managed. The Connecticut Sentencing Commission is holding a public hearing Thursday and reviewing several proposed changes following a two-year study that began in 2015. “There was concern in the legislature, I think, that maybe Connecticut could find a better way to deal with sex offender registration, sex offender management,” Superior Court Judge Robert Delvin, chair of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, said. Full Article

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OH: Parent’s petition to “Stop Child Sex Offenders and Child Abusers From Having All Rights To Children”

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[change.org – 11/30/18] “Im writing this petition because of the number of children that are hurt daily due to a failed judicial system and relaxed punishments for offenders. Plus I myself are going threw an custody battle for my daughter to try to keep her away from her father that has been convicted of abuse and sex crimes against his other children” Read the petition she will send to Ohio government officials    

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PA: Superior Court removes Allegheny County judge from sex offender’s resentencing

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The state Su­pe­rior Court, in a rare move Wed­nes­day, or­dered Al­le­gheny County Com­mon Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel to be re­moved from a case, find­ing that there was “sub­stan­tial ev­i­dence” that she “demon­strated bias and per­sonal an­i­mus” against both the de­fen­dant and the pub­lic de­fender’s of­fice rep­re­sent­ing him. Full Article Follow-Up: Allegheny County judge ordered removed by Superior Court from sex offender case recuses

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