[Joseph De Gearo at Adelphi University, NY – adelphi.edu] We are exploring the perceptions of men accused of sexual misconduct during college. The goal of our research is to improve policy, prevention and education. The volunteer would be interviewed confidentially for about an hour by Zoom or phone. If you are male accused of sexual misconduct during college and are willing to volunteer, please contact me: Joe De Gearo [email protected] [updated 11/28/20] (516) 993-0024
Read MoreYear: 2020
Facebook page requires no evidence to call men sexual abusers
[thepostmillennial.com – 11/11/20] This summer, we witnessed a new wave of #MeToo sexual misconduct accusations on social media targeting powerful men in various industries in the province of Quebec. Like the previous instance of online indictments of sexual harassment, few professed victims could present proof supporting their allegations’ validity. And so, we were told to “believe all victims,” even when evidence was absent. Not satisfied with the current Quebec’s legal process, Delphine Bergeron and an unnamed collaborator decided to curate a public list of potential sexual harassers’ names. The administrators…
Read MoreFL: Disney World Vacation Leads to Fight Over Florida Sex Offender Law
[wjno.iheart.com – 11/10/20] TALLAHASSEE — A Pennsylvania man has filed a challenge to a Florida law that has kept him on a sexual-offender registry after a 10-day family vacation to Disney World in 2015. The man, identified in court documents as John Doe, reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office when he came to Florida because he was on a Pennsylvania registry at the time as a result of a child-pornography conviction in 2002. Doe was removed from the Pennsylvania registry in 2016 but has remained registered as a sex…
Read MoreNH: ‘Hellhole’ dad on track to get 15-year prison sentence vacated
A clerical error will likely upend a guilty plea that sent a Manchester father to prison for 15 years for the abuse of his two young children in what police described at the time as a hellhole, according to court documents. … The issue: ____ wasn’t informed that once his 15- to 30-year sentence is completed, he will have to register as a child offender. The defense lawyer who handled his original case, Paul Garrity, has said he was not aware that adults convicted of serious harm against children land…
Read MoreGeneral Comments November 2020
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of November 2020. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreCA: ACSOL Lawsuit alleges Irvine sex offender rule conflicts with state law
[ocregister.com – 11/6/20] An Irvine resident who is on the state’s sex offender registry is challenging a city rule that prevents him from taking his own child to a public park, according to a lawsuit he filed and an attorney representing him. Irvine’s municipal code requires people on the registry who were convicted of an offense involving a minor to get written permission from the police chief to enter any city park or recreation facility; violation of the rule is a misdemeanor that could carry a fine or jail time.…
Read MoreIL: Name Change for Transgender Sex Offender Debated at Seventh Circuit
[courthousenews.com – 11/6/20] CHICAGO (CN) — A Seventh Circuit panel heard arguments Friday over whether a Wisconsin law barring convicted sex offenders from changing their name amounts to free speech infringement. The underlying lawsuit was brought in Milwaukee federal court in May 2019 by Karen Krebs, a transgender woman from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who cannot change her name due to a 1992 conviction which required her to register as a sex offender. Wisconsin law makes it a Class H felony for anyone who is required to register as a sex offender…
Read MoreOH: Landlord with convicted rapist as tenant tests nationwide eviction moratorium
[beaconjournal.com – 11/4/20] When Norton resident Charles Fowler discovered he had a Barberton tenant with a criminal record that included rape living at one of his rental properties, he knew he had a problem. For one, there was a nationwide moratorium on evictions. The ban was first passed by Congress earlier this year as a response to rising unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic. That ban expired, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order extending it until Dec. 31. .. He contacted U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez’s…
Read MoreCalifornia Approves Parolee Voting, Rejects Additional Violent Felonies (Prop 17 & 20)
Voters in the state of California approved voting by parolees and rejected a proposed significant increase in the number of violent felonies in yesterday’s election. That is, voters approved Proposition 17, by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent, that will allow individuals on parole to vote in future elections. And voters rejected Proposition 20, by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent, that would have increased the number of violent felonies from 27 to 51. “ACSOL thanks everyone who followed its recommendations by voting in favor of…
Read MoreOK: Sex-Offense Registry Sweeps Intended to Boost Support for Cops Unwittingly Spread COVID-19
[shadowproof.com – 11/2/20] The Oklahoma City Police Department pulled off a social media coup on July 7. “Meet the top 10 most wanted individuals being sought by our Sex Offender Registration Unit,” the department posted on its Facebook page. “It’s important we keep tabs on these guys (and gal), so help us find them.” The post engaged a huge number of readers, receiving 1,500 shares and nearly 500 comments. Told dangerous people were loose on city streets, readers responded. “[She] works at [a local store] I’m fucking sick!” posted one.…
Read MoreIL: Ex-teaching assistant gets probation for sexually abusing 14-year-old student
[news-gazette.com – 10/30/20] URBANA — A 24-year-old woman who admitted having sex with a teenage boy for whom she acted as a teaching assistant has been sentenced to four years of probation. Judge Roger Webber said Friday he did not believe Allyssa Gustafson, who had no prior criminal convictions, was a danger to the public. However, he said the requirement that she register as a sex offender for life — “the modern-day equivalent of the scarlet letter” — would serve to punish her. Read the full article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: We Are at the Brink
The Cambridge English dictionary defines the word “brink” as the point where a new or different situation is about to begin. The word “brink” therefore accurately describes the current situation facing almost 1 million people in the United States who are required to register as sex offenders. There are three reasons this is true. First, the United States is about to either re-elect the same President or elect a new President as well as countless other politicians on the city, county, state and federal levels. The results of those elections…
Read MoreCA Dept. of Justice Changes Registration Form, Misstates Federal Law
The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) recently changed the state’s registration form (CJIS 8102S). In doing so, it added the following sentence: “Federal law requires me to notify my registering agency no less than 21 days before I intend to travel internationally.” “The main problem with the new statement is that it does not accurately reflect current federal law,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. According to a five-page letter sent today by ACSOL, state governments that comply with SORNA are required to demand international travel information from registrants.…
Read MoreNever Settle for Scraps
Recently, I was watching the movie, “Braveheart” when I was catapulted into a state of utter determination. The scene that moved me is when William Wallace explains that he plans on invading and defeating the English on their own ground; and in doing so, he will wrest Scotland’s freedom from the grip of King Edward Longshanks. When the lords and other members of the varying clans scoff at Wallace and tell him that successfully invading England is impossible, Wallace exclaims, “Why? Why is that impossible? You’re so concerned with squabbling…
Read MoreIL: A Veteran Cook County Judge Has Been Repeatedly Blocked from Hearing Sex Offense Cases. Here’s Why.
[bettergov.org – 10/22/20] A Chicago teenager pleaded with Cook County Judge James Linn to impose the maximum prison sentence on the man who sexually assaulted her and her two sisters for several years and threatened to kill them if they told anyone. “Help us ensure that there will be one less rapist out on the streets,” the woman, then 19, wrote in a victim impact statement read aloud at the sentencing hearing in May 2011. “At the end of the day, I just want justice to be served the correct…
Read MorePA: Appellate Court finds registration violates right to reputation under Pennsylvania Constitution in as applied case
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 10/23/20] Before you get too excited, this is an as-applied case, meaning the decision only benefits the person challenging and not everyone on the Pennsylvania registry, but it’s a win nonetheless, and a win on a novel argument, so it’s good news. A Pennsylvania intermediate court found that SORNA violates an individual’s right to reputation under Article I, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution by creating an irrebuttable presumption that she poses a high risk of committing additional sexual offenses. The law says, “[s]exual offenders pose a high…
Read MoreCalifornia ordered to halve San Quentin population after showing ‘deliberate indifference,’ court says
[yahoo.com – 10/23/20] OAKLAND, Calif. — A state appellate court has ordered San Quentin State Prison to halve its inmate population, which would require transferring or releasing some 1,700 inmates. The ruling from the state’s First Court of Appeals sends a clear message that officials overseeing San Quentin have not done enough to protect inmates from the coronavirus after a summer outbreak. “We agree that respondents — the Warden and CDCR — have acted with deliberate indifference and relief is warranted,” the court said in its opinion. The court ordered…
Read MoreWilliams Institute report : Over 6,000 people are civilly committed in the US
[williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu – 10/2020] Black men and men with male victims are more likely to be committed Twenty states, the federal government, and D.C. have laws that allow for the indefinite detention of sex offenders designated as a “Sexually Violent Person” or “Sexually Violent Predator” (SVP) beyond the term of their incarceration. This report explores the implications civil commitment laws have for Black and sexual minority communities. In the 1990s and 2000s, federal lawmakers and legislators in 20 states and the District of Columbia passed laws that allow for the detention…
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