[3newsnow.com – 5/26/20] The alleged actions by James Fairbanks has registered sex offenders concerned for their safety. Police say Fairbanks murdered registered sex offender Mattieo Condoluci on May 14 at his home. Prosecutors say he sent an email to media outlets saying he saw his sex offender registry information, and couldn’t let him hurt any other children. In 2011, “Jay” was convicted of sexual assault of a child when he says he got into an online relationship with a girl he didn’t know was underage. He didn’t want to use…
Read MoreYear: 2020
Watch Recording of Safe and Just Michigan to learn the evidence-based case for ending sex offender registries
[safeandjustmi.org – 5/28/30 event] 5/28/20 UPDATE: Here is the link to watch the recording Thursday, May 28 • 12:00 Noon • via Zoom • Free • Sign up: www.bit.ly/EndTheRegistry Sex offense registries were supposed to keep communities safer. Under them, people convicted of sex offenses are required to register where they work, live, volunteer and go to school. Certain restrictions are placed on where they can live and earn a living. These laws have created an underclass of people who struggle not only to find a good job, but to…
Read MoreCA: Reports of online child sex abuse surge amid pandemic
[latimes.com – 5/22/20] Law enforcement officials in Los Angeles and across the country have been overwhelmed in recent months by a surge in tips about online child sex abuse, with social media platforms and other service providers flagging explicit content and suspicious interactions at an alarming rate. With schools closed, youth activities canceled and kids spending more time online under stay-at-home orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic, sexual predators have ramped up their efforts to solicit pictures and videos, officials say. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a…
Read MoreNE: Advocates call for an end to the public sex offender registry
[fox42kptm.com – 5/20/20] A shooting in North Omaha has sparked concerns over the state sex offender registry. Following the death of Mattieo Condoluci, members of the National Association of Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) are calling for the state to remove the public state sex offender registry. “If he was not on the registry I have no doubt he would be alive,” NARSOL Vice Chair Robin Vander Wall said. Vander Wall said the current system requiring sex offenders to register and make their address public is not effective in keeping…
Read MoreCA: Public Defender seeks removal of OC DA from sex offender parole violation cases
The Orange County Public Defender’s Office is seeking to have the Orange County District Attorney’s Office removed from prosecuting five sex offenders accused of violating parole after they were released early from local lockup. Full Article Related CA: 7 Sex Offenders Released Early Due to COVID-19 in Orange County Despite Parole Violations https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/12/six-sex-offenders-whose-early-release-was-criticized-by-orange-county-da-are-arrested-again/
Read MoreUK: Vigilantes ‘set fire to home where paedophile lived’
[metro.co.uk – 5/20/20] A police search has been sparked after vigilantes in Liverpool reportedly torched a house days after a convicted paedophile was removed for his own safety. The sex offender was involved in a ‘dogging gang’ which groomed and ‘systematically’ sexually abused a 13-year-old girl in North Wales in 2005, it is understood. He was jailed for three years after admitting two counts of sexual activity with a child and taking indecent photographs of a child in a 2006 court case, according to the Liverpool Echo. A crowd of…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: More Needs to Be Done to Help Registrants Re-Integrate
Upon graduation from a Sex Offender Treatment Group, a registrant made the comment that “some of the guys in the group will never graduate, they’re always afraid they’ll break some registry law, they seldom leave their homes or motel rooms. Most of them can’t find jobs, their PO’s “safety Plan” is for them to do their grocery shopping at 4AM. Every day for them is like “Ground Hog Day”, exactly the same, it never changes. What kind of life is that? Shouldn’t someone be doing more to help these guys…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court Denies Review of Challenge to In-Person Registration
The California Supreme Court issued an order today denying ACSOL’s challenge to in-person registration requirements by local law enforcement agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court’s decision to deny review is based upon the fact that the Governor issued an Executive Order earlier this month that encourages, but does not require, local law enforcement agencies to remotely register individuals. In its short decision, the Court cited only part of the Executive Order which suspends the taking of fingerprints and photographs as well as the requirement to sign and initial the…
Read MoreAction Alert: CA Legislation Would Significantly Increase Duration of Protective Orders [UPDATED 5/26]
[UPDATED 5/26 WITH NEW CALL-IN NUMBER FOR THE HEARING ON 5/27] [UPDATED 5/22 WITH LOCAL SENATOR OFFICE PHONE NUMBERS] The California Senate Public Safety Committee has scheduled a hearing on Wednesday, May 27 at 9:00 AM during which Senate Bill 853 (SB 853) will be considered. If the bill is passed, the duration of Protective Orders issued in cases involving sex offenses and other crimes would be significantly increased from a maximum of 10 years to life, depending upon the conviction for which a person is required to register. This…
Read MoreOnce Fallen: The murder of Mattieo Condoluci
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 5/20/’20] Many of you are aware that there was a vigilante killing in Omaha, Nebraska this past weekend, and the murderer turned himself into the police last night. The Omaha media, particularly the World-Herald, has all but canonized the murderer, making him a sympathetic character, while the registrant he killed was not a sympathetic character. This has led to an outpouring of support for the murderer. See https://www.omaha.com/news/crime/ex-wife-omaha-man-arrested-in-killing-of-registered-sex-offender-fearful-man-would-offend/article_ca281537-18e6-5e9f-8bd6-3cee4499b939.html But, no matter the backstory between the two individuals, the fact remains that this was an act of pre-meditated murder…
Read MoreNE: ‘We’re sitting ducks’: Concerns of copycat attacks following sex offender’s killing
[ketv.com – 5/19/20] OMAHA, Neb. —When “Jay” first heard the motive behind Mattieo Condoluci’s death, he immediately feared for the safety of his family. “We’re sitting ducks,” he said. Prosecutors believe James Fairbanks sent KETV Newswatch 7 an anonymous email about killing Condoluci. The sender said he had been looking for an apartment in the area when he discovered Condoluci on the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry. The sender described Condoluci as standing in his driveway pretending to wash his truck while staring at a group of children playing in the…
Read MoreCA: Hollister PD to continue registering sex offenders in person
[sanbenito.com – 5/19/20] The Hollister Police Department will continue to register local sex offenders in person—with social distancing protocols in place—despite an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom allowing law enforcement to conduct such registration remotely. “The Hollister Police Department is aware of the seriousness and the need to monitor convicted sex offenders in our community,” reads a May 18 press release from Hollister Police. “The department has a barrier in place at our front lobby that protects our staff. Our personnel are also trained to use masks, gloves and…
Read MoreCO: Divided state Supreme Court ruling allows convicted man to terminate sex offender registration
[coloradopolitics.com – 5/19/20] In a 4-3 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that a criminal defendant was entitled to his request to de-register as a sex offender because he completed the terms of his probationary sentence and therefore no longer had a conviction under the law. Brian Keith McCulley pleaded guilty in 2000 to two counts of sexual assault. One of the charges, a misdemeanor, resulted in 60 days in jail while the other, a felony, carried a deferred judgment. In Colorado, deferred judgments allow for completion of probation lasting…
Read MoreCA: Riverside County to Begin Remote Registration
[ACSOL] The Riverside County Sheriff has issued instructions in which he told the county’s Station Commanders to “develop and immediately implement procedures allowing registrants to complete their registration remotely, telephonically or in ways that allow for social distancing.” The instructions were issued on May 11 and are meant to implement the Executive Order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom on May 8. According to the Sheriff’s instructions, Station Commanders may also “choose to accomplish registration and fingerprinting by offering in-person registration outside the station facility, or in-home registration (utilizing sworn deputies…
Read MoreHow the “Stranger Danger” Panic of the 1980s Helped Give Rise to Mass Incarceration
[jacobinmag.com – 5/18/20] The missing-child panic began with Etan Patz. Plenty of kids had gone missing before, but Etan’s case seemed specially designed to provoke a mass hysteria. In 1979, the six-year-old boy’s mother arranged for him to walk to the school bus stop on his own. She watched him depart from her Manhattan fire escape. Another mother was waiting two blocks away in an apartment overlooking the bus stop site, but Etan never arrived. The tragedy was and remains impossible to comprehend. His first time walking to the bus…
Read MoreComments Sought for Draft California Tiered Registry Forms
[ACSOL] The Criminal Law Advisory Committee of the the Judicial Council of California has prepared and released four draft forms to be used when the petitioning process of the Tiered Registry Law becomes effective in July 2021. Comments regarding the draft forms is due to the Committee no later than June 9, 2020. The four draft forms include: Petition to Terminate Sex Offender Registration (CR-415), Acknowledgment of Receipt by Law Enforcement/District Attorney (CR-416), Response by District Attorney to Petition (CR-417) and Order on Petition (CR-418). In addition, the Council has…
Read MoreCity of Oakland Agrees to Provide Remote Registration
[ACSOL] The City of Oakland has agreed to remotely register individuals as encouraged by Gov. Gavin Newsom in Executive Order N-63-20 which was issued on May 8. Those seeking remote registration should call (510) 238-2189 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. The City of Oakland is also willing to accommodate any individual who would prefer to register in person. In order to register in person, an individual must set up an appointment in advance by calling the sex offender registration unit at (510) 238-2189 Monday through Friday…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Wakulla County, Florida Discrimination Case
This news out of Florida is one of those David and Goliath type lawsuits, the little guy against the giant. City Walk Urban Mission in Wakulla County, Crawfordville, Florida, a small faith-based ministry whose motto is “every saint has a past, every sinner has a future” has come under fire by some of the town’s folk and law enforcement. Since 2013, this tiny non-profit ministry has worked to help rehabilitate ex-offenders, provided food and shelter, assistance in procuring employment and for some, reconnection with their families. The ministry’s address, a…
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