Every year around Halloween time, Patch, the news website specializing in local coverage around the country, publishes maps that show where sex offenders live. Patch claims this is some kind of public service, even though a thorough study of 67,000 cases of child molestation found zero increase in sex crimes against children on Halloween. Full Article
Read MoreYear: 2018
CT: A Sex-Offender Synagogue President Resigns Despite Rabbi’s Support
[forward.com – 10/10/18] The president of a Connecticut synagogue resigned his position on Sunday, one week after his status as a registered sex offender became widely known in his community, bringing a #Metoo-era quandary about repentance and disclosure to a small suburb of Hartford, Connecticut. In 2008, Jason _________, now 53, went to meet with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl, allegedly to take nude pictures of her. The girl turned out to be law enforcement officers conducting a sting, and he was arrested. After his arrest, he immediately…
Read MoreStates Can’t Make Up New Laws to Punish Old Conduct Just Because They Call Them “Civil”
Article I, Section 10 of the Constitution provides that “[n]o State shall … pass any … Ex Post Facto law.” The Ex Post Facto Clause was incorporated into the Constitution to prohibit states from enacting retrospective legislation, which the Framers believed to be inherently unfair and contrary to the principles of limited, constitutional government. Despite the Framers’ clear aversion to retrospective lawmaking, the Supreme Court has since adopted the view that states are uninhibited from enacting retroactive civil penalties. So long as a retrospective law contains a discernable legislative purpose…
Read MoreDiscussion: How can registrants make a living?
This is an open discussion where you can share your ideas on how we registrants can find employment in a society that discriminates against us. For example: What regulations we are up against; Available job resources; Tips on the types of jobs that are most available to us; Your success story. If your information is specific to your state, please mention the state. We’d also like to hear your ideas on how registrants can start their own business—preferably without a major investment. What does it take? How can we avoid…
Read MoreACSOL Meeting October 20 in L.A.
Please mark your calendars for ACSOL’s upcoming meeting: Saturday, October 20 10 a.m. ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles (free parking below building) Registrants, friends and family and interested service providers are invited to attend these free meetings. There will be no law enforcement or media present in order to protect everyone’s privacy. The meetings start at 10 am and last about 2-3 hours. Topics of conversation include information about ACSOL’s advocacy as well as current topics and pending legal action. Please Show up, Stand up, and Speak…
Read MoreNY: Senator Murphy questions State on placing sex offenders in homes for the developmentally disabled
[nysenate.gov – 10/11/18] Albany, NY – Being a sex offender carries with it the often well-earned reputation of being unable to mix with society. Even hardened criminals have expressed their disgust with the lewd and deviant acts perpetrated by sex offenders. A recent study has found dozens of sex offenders in New York State living in group homes for people with developmental disabilities. Their crimes can run the gamut from watching child pornography to public exposure to sexual assault. In his capacity as Chairman of the New York State Senate…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: How Many Dead Registrants is Enough?
Today a registrant in Orange County, California, is dead. He may have died at the hands of another or he may have taken his own life. This brings the total number of known dead registrants, killed by the hands of another or themselves, in California to 18 since 2005. How many dead registrants is enough? How many dead registrants will it take to persuade the public, elected officials and even the U.S. Supreme Court that registration is punishment….and not the same as being a member of Price Club. How dare…
Read MorePSA Child Porn Warning
A public awareness campaign to educate our young people as to what constitutes child pornography must begin now. The lives of too many young adults are being ruined due to ignorance about the dangers of clicking on ANY porn site. Please consider taking time to watch this 3 min PSA: When is an adult not an adult? When a teen poses to look like an adult as part of the dark web of child pornography. More and more children, teens and young adults are looking at internet pornography out of…
Read MoreGuy Hamilton-Smith on Sex Offender Registration & Social Media [audio]
[shows.pippa.io – 10/10/18] In this episode, Guy Hamilton-Smith, Legal Fellow at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center, discusses his article “The Digital Wilderness: A Decade of Exile & the False Hopes of Lester Packingham.” In Packingham v. North Carolina (2017), the Supreme Court unanimously held that the First Amendment protects the right of registered sex offenders to use social media. Nevertheless, many states make it almost impossible to exercise that right, by prosecuting technical reporting requirements as strict-liability felonies. Hamilton-Smith explains how this…
Read MoreOH: Body of registered sex offender found wrapped in plastic; death ruled homicide
[palmbeachpost.com – 10/10/18] MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OHIO — The man whose body was found wrapped in plastic Monday afternoon by a Browns Nursery worker was identified as a 47-year-old Clay Twp. man. Steven T. Johnson died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, but it’s too early to know how long he’d been dead, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Johnson reportedly was identified through fingerprints. Johnson’s body was discovered off Arlington Road on nursery property, Sgt. M.D. Hutchison of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said. Read…
Read MoreGA: Thomas County deputies keep ‘watchful eye’ on sex offenders
[walb.com – 10/4/18] THOMAS CO., GA (WALB) – Locating and registering sex offenders is a top priority for Georgia sheriff’s offices. The Thomas County Sheriff’s Office said they verify registered sex offenders multiple times throughout the year, as part of the “Operation Watchful Eye” initiative. Lt. Tim Watkins, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office chief investigator, said Halloween is one of those holidays that they make sure all registered sex offenders in the county are where they’re suppose to be. “They have to be inside their residence. They cannot have any decorations…
Read MoreCA: Think sex offenders can’t live next to parks and schools? That’s not always the case
When an Atascadero sex offender listed on the state’s Megan Law website was charged last month with committing sex crimes against a child, it wasn’t just the disturbing nature of the allegations that stood out. It was the man’s address. ____ ____, who previously served prison time for lewd acts against a child under 14, was registered as living directly across the street from Colony Park and one block from the Fine Arts Academy. Atascadero police records indicate that the most recent allegations against ____ are not related to his…
Read MoreMA: Sex offenders have access to kids on Halloween
[bostonherald.com – 10/7/18] Sex offenders are forbidden under state law from driving an ice cream truck, but they can hand out all the candy they want on Halloween in what one child advocate is calling a risky oversight. “Halloween is like Christmas for sex offenders,” said attorney Wendy Murphy. “They know they’ll have lots of access to kids and that they can’t get in trouble even though they’re required to stay away from children.” Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas all have “no candy” laws that ban sex offenders…
Read MoreFL: Ex Post Facto Lawsuit Filed (FAC)
A lawsuit was filed in Federal Court challenging the Florida Sex Offender registry. The suit is a facial challenge, filed on behalf of persons required to register in the State of Florida. It argues that the registry violates the Ex Post Facto clause of the constitution, constitutes Cruel and Unusual Punishment, violates Procedural Due Process, violates Substantive Due Process, is unconstitutionally Vague, has no rational relationship to its purpose and asks the Court to permanently restrain and enjoin the FDLE from enforcing the registration statute. More from Florida Action Committee
Read MoreJustice Department awards $13 million to help jurisdictions register and track sex offenders
The Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) today announced awards of approximately $13 million to improve the registration and tracking of sex offenders. The grants are being awarded to states, U.S. territories and tribal communities. Full Announcement
Read MoreWA: DEFAMATION? Website Names Men Anonymously Accused Of Sexual Assault
A website created by University of Washington students allows users to anonymously post the names of men who have allegedly committed sexual assault — an act that could land the site’s administrators in legal hot water. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Texas Supreme Court to hear sex offender law challenge
The Texas Supreme Court will consider a challenge to the state’s retroactive sex offender laws that some say unfairly stack new punishments on those convicted in plea deals. Full Article Related TX: For some sex offenders, their deal with the state wasn’t really a deal
Read MoreMA: The Case for Dismantling the Sex Offender Registry with Dr. Emily Horowitz [presentation]
[sopri-ma.org – 10/25/18] with Dr. Emily Horowitz, author of Protecting Our Kids? How Sex Offender Laws are Failing Us Thursday, October 25 @ 7pm Cambridge Friends Center, 5 Longfellow Park (off Brattle Street coming out of Harvard Square, Cambridge) Emily Horowitz, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at St. Francis College (Brooklyn, NY), will review some of the research and evidence about sex offense registries and the harm they cause. She will discuss recent efforts to challenge these popular but ineffective and damaging policies. “The sex offense registry is essentially…
Read More