NJ: Man dies in Civil Commitment After Being Beaten by Officers

[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/4/21] The family of Darrell Smith is suing the state after he was beaten to a near comatose state by a group of correctional officers at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel. The center is New Jersey’s civil commitment center, where people are held indefinitely after completing their sentence. The beating was described as “gang-style” and even after he was left in a catatonic state, officers at the facility waited five days before taking him to the hospital, where he died two days later. Read the…

Read More

Malaysia: [Expand and] Put sex offenders list under home ministry, NGO tells govt

[freemalaysiatoday.com – 3/4/21] … It added that the list should be more complete, user-friendly, and accessible to the public with information on all types of sex offenders, not just paedophiles. Former deputy minister for women, family and community development, Hannah Yeoh, had announced the setting up of a child sex offender registry, which has been up and running since April 1, 2019. Read the full article Related links: Govt urged to establish accessible sex offenders list [theborneopost.com – 3/4/21]  

Read More

KY: House bill would help pregnant inmates, increase time to file charges in sexual abuse cases

[messenger-inquirer.com – 3/4/21] … The committee also approved a bill to require the Parole Board to notify victims of class D felony sexual offenses that the perpetrator is eligible for parole, a bill to allow juvenile victims of sex offense more time to file charges, and a bill that would give judges discretion when deciding whether a juvenile criminal case should be transferred to adult court. … The committee also approved House Bill 47, which increases the time a person who was the victim of a misdemeanor sexual offense can…

Read More

NJ: Murphy replaces three members of board that restored license to convicted sex offender

[newjerseyglobe.com – 3/4/21] Gov. Phil Murphy has replaced three members of the embattled State Board of Chiropractic Examiners after a controversial vote to reinstate the license of a convicted sex offender from Paramus. Murphy is dumping Brett Wartenberg, Thomas Senatore and Paul Lyons and replacing them with Kelly Blunder, Uchenna Abba Onyeani and Michael Kaufman. All six are chiropractors. Despite warnings from the attorney general, the board voted to reinstate the license Dr. Bryan Bajakian, who in 2008 was convicted on charges of luring or enticing underage girls and illegally…

Read More

TX: Convicted sex offender allowed to remain in Arlington mayoral race

[dallasnews.com – 2/28/21] Arlington officials say a convicted sex offender can remain on the ballot for mayor after another candidates filed a complaint. Jerry Warden filed for the Arlington mayoral race on Feb. 11, joining seven other residents seeking to become the city’s 27th mayor. Mayor Jeff Williams is serving his third and final term, and is not eligible to run again for the position due to Arlington term limit laws. Warden holds a lifetime listing on the Texas Public Sex Offenders Registry after being convicted in 1996 on charges…

Read More

Letter: Sex offenders are redeemable

[inforum.com – 3/4/21] The idea that sex offenders are irredeemable is a myth. Reason (magazine) reports that a repeat offense within a period of five years occurs only 7% of the time. About 100 U.S. teachers, mostly women, are charged with sex crimes each year, although many others go unreported. Affairs between teachers and students are becoming more common in both the U.S. and Europe, probably because the rise of social media has made communication easier and more private. In most of Europe, the age of consent is 14, while…

Read More