[foxnews.com – 11/30/19] It was a murder so brutal – and one that continues to haunt law enforcement in the quiet community of Osceola County, Florida. … For those like Gibson, who are tasked with safeguarding the most vulnerable in the community, it has raised the question as to what more the justice system should and could be doing to support victims of domestic violence. Namely, why there has been little headway made to establish a national registry for those convicted of domestic violence crimes – similar to the SORNA…
Read MoreMonth: November 2019
TX: Neighbors: Sex offenders may follow proposed Good Samaritan homeless shelter to area
[caller.com – 11/29/19] There was a time when Abel Palacious found himself homeless. Now, he lives across the street from the old Lamar Elementary School. The school, at the corner of Morris and 19th streets, could be converted into the largest homeless shelter in Corpus Christi. It would house 308 beds as the new location for the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission. The organization served Palacious when he was homeless. Even so, he said he can’t support the shelter’s proposed location because registered sex offenders are allowed to stay at the Good Samaritan. He has…
Read MoreIL: Documented harassment of a registrant by a police officer
[uscourts.gov – 11/26/19 – 7th Circuit] The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that state actors have, at a minimum, a rational basis for treating similarly situated people differently. Rex _____ alleges that Officer Tizoc Landeros prevented him from updating his Illinois sexual offender registration and otherwise used his official position to harass Frederickson purely out of personal dislike. Without an updated registration, Frederickson was unable to move from Joliet, Illinois, to nearby Bolingbrook. The district court found that Frederickson had put forth enough evidence to allow a…
Read MoreOH: Cleveland Police: Final warning for dumped child sex files sergeant
[bbc.com – 11/27/19] A police officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct after confidential files about paedophiles and their victims were found dumped in a recycling bin outside his home. Sgt Martin Skirving-Chehab, of Cleveland Police, took two carrier bags of paperwork home before his mother-in-law accidentally threw them out. The papers contained details about 55 sex offenders. A police misconduct panel gave him a final written warning. It found the officer failed to sort through the carrier bags, risk assess the material or store it in a secure…
Read MoreWI: 65 percent of registered sex offenders approved for Green Bay housing exemption since Nov. 2018
[nbc26.com – 11/28/19] Darlene Esquivel did not want Theodore Blazek to be able to live next door. Blazek, a registered sex offender convicted of possession of child pornography, asked for an exemption to a Green Bay ordinance that bars registered sex offenders with a conviction involving children from living within 1,500 feet of schools, parks, and playgrounds. Blazek declined an on-camera interview, but said he is not a threat and wants to live in the home because he owns it. Esquivel said she told her nine-year-old daughter about Blazek’s history.…
Read MoreNigeria launches first sex offender register
[theguardian.com/ – 11/25/19] Campaigners have hailed the launch of Nigeria’s first sex offender register as a vital step towards tackling reported cases of sexual abuse, which are rising across the country. The publicly accessible onlineregister of people prosecuted for sexual violence since 2015 will allow public bodies and police authorities to conduct background checks and identify repeat offenders. Oluwaseun Osowobi, the director of Stand To End Rape, a Nigerian non-government organisation that supports survivors of sexual violence, said: “If a case is reported anywhere in the country, the case is…
Read MoreSupreme Court Won’t Weigh Curbing U.S. Agency Powers
[bloomberglaw.com – 11/25/19] The U.S. Supreme Court refused Nov. 25 to once again consider whether Congress is disregarding a long-held legal doctrine and giving too much power to federal agencies. Last term a short-handed Supreme Court refused to reinvigorate the “non-delegation doctrine,” which prohibits lawmakers from effectively passing off their legislative authority to another branch of government. The doctrine was used to upend New Deal legislation in the 1930s, but has been dormant since. Conservatives and libertarians eager to dismantle the so-called administrative state are eager for the court to…
Read MoreWI: Gov. Tony Evers Vetoes Changes To Sex Offender Residency Requirements
[wpr.org – 11/25/19] Measure Passed Legislature With Unanimous Vote, Bipartisan Support Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have lifted state restrictions on how close people convicted of sex crimes can live to schools. The bill, which passed the state Assembly and Senate unanimously, would have repealed a state law that bars sexually violent persons from living less than 1,500 feet from schools, public parks, places of worship or youth centers. The bill would also have required offenders be placed in their home county after being released from…
Read MoreMD: The Absurdity Of Charging 10-Year-Olds As Sex Offenders
A ten-year boy has just been charged as a sex offender as a result of a schoolyard game of tag that got out of control. As reported by the local CBS news affiliate: “the fourth-grade students were playing a game of tag that escalated when a boy began making inappropriate comments and movements toward the girls. One of the boys also wrapped his arms around one of the girls.” Full Article Related https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/11/22/10-year-old-boy-charged-sex-offense-marbury-maryland-school/
Read MoreNY: Pushed Out and Locked In – The Catch-22 for Disabled, Homeless, Sex-Offender Registrants
Across New York, people are incarcerated for weeks, months, and even years after their prison release dates. These individuals are not confined for violating prison disciplinary rules or committing new crimes. New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) detains them, instead, because they are homeless. DOCCS refuses to release prisoners to community supervision without an approved address. But for prisoners required to register as “sex offenders,” finding housing means navigating a web of restrictions that are levied exclusively on people convicted of sex crimes and that dramatically constrain…
Read MoreRI: Lawmaker hopes to expand Megan’s Law to include crimes that predate it
One local lawmaker is pushing for sexual predators found guilty of crimes decades ago to be treated the same way as those convicted more recently. The push comes after convicted child molester ____ ____ moved to Cranston at the beginning of the month. Since his crime pre-dates Megan’s Law, which led to the creation of the sex offender registry, residents weren’t notified of his arrival or address. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade uproots sex offender camp yet again. Does harsh law really make public safer?
The latest eviction order came earlier this month: Some 70 paroled child sex offenders, now living in a flimsy village of tents, cardboard boxes and rusty campers in an industrial zone just east of Miami International Airport, were told they had to find a new home — yet again. Full Article
Read MoreWA: A claw and a bat. People arm themselves as tensions rise over homeless RVs at the Capitol
[spokanepublicradio.org – 11/21/19] In the shadow of Washington’s Capitol dome is a broad boulevard — called Deschutes Parkway — with a popular walking and running path that curves along Capitol Lake and links the city of Olympia to the neighboring city of Tumwater. The parkway, the adjacent lake and nearby Marathon Park are technically part of Washington’s expansive Capitol campus complex. It’s along this picturesque stretch of road, where parking is not restricted, that in recent months motorhomes, trailers and campers in various states of disrepair have begun to take…
Read MorePA: Sex offender removed from the hospital during the birth of his child
Many of the stories we bring you on a daily basis here at WPXI are clear cut. They’re right or wrong. But this one had us here in the newsroom debating and even questioning ourselves. It’s one of those rare instances where you see both sides. Ken Moore is a registered sex offender but never thought that would keep him from seeing the birth of his third child. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Illinois Supreme Court strikes down social media ban for sex offenders
Illinois’ highest court ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to ban convicted sex offenders from social media sites. Conrad Allen Morger was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and sentenced to four years of probation by a court in McLean County. That came with a binding condition he not use specific internet sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. During oral arguments, held in September in Godfrey, Morger’s representative said the ban is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment fundamental right to freedom of speech. Full Article…
Read MoreCA: CASOMB Reports Significant Increase in Number of Registrants
[ACSOL] The number of individuals required to register as a sex offender in the state of California continues to grow rapidly, according to the CA Sex Offender Management Board. The current number of registrants in the state is 108,970, an increase of about one thousand people in only five months. “The rapid growth in the number of registrants in California must stop,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “A significant part of this growth is made up of individuals convicted of offenses involving unlawful images, including teens who are viewing…
Read MoreOH: Ohio state lawmaker re-introduces 18-and-under sexting bill
[cleveland.com – 11/20/19] COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio state lawmaker has proposed banning sexting for those 18 and under. Underage sexting is already illegal, but Senate Bill 239, introduced Wednesday, carves out a legal definition that makes it a less-serious offense than other crimes involving sexual images of minors. The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Nathan Manning, a North Ridgeville Republican, said his proposed law is meant to prevent minors from facing charges that would force them to register as a sex offender. Read more
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Registrants Left Out in the Cold, Again
Great News! Fremont, Ohio in Sandusky County has a homeless shelter. A homeless shelter that denies access to registrants, but a homeless shelter none the less. I can’t help but wonder what the “do-gooders” of this town were thinking when they set up what is basically an “emergency shelter” and then decided to be prejudiced against who they will take in. According to the local law enforcement of Fremont, there are approximately 6-8 homeless each night in the town. Coincidently, the new shelter can hold 8 people. But if one…
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