May 2021 - ACSOL

NY: Lawmakers wrestle with parole bills as session deadline nears

May 31, 2021 R H

[thedailystar.com – 5/31/21] ALBANY — Proposals aimed at giving a second chance to well-behaved prison inmates are gaining traction at the statehouse in the final days of the 2021 legislative session. Perhaps the most controversial bill would require parole consideration for inmates who have served at least 15 years of their sentence and are 55 years or older. … One other criminal justice bill getting attention would seal the criminal records of thousands of offenders once they complete their sentences, provided the individuals are not on probation or parole, or…

South Africa: Adoption of two bills to curb gender-based violence in SA welcomed

May 31, 2021 R H

[www.iol.co.za – 5/31/21] Cape Town – Civil society organisations have welcomed the adoption of two pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening laws fighting gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). … He said the bill aimed to expand the scope of the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) to include the particulars of sex offenders and not only sex offenders against children and persons who were mentally disabled. Read the full article

NJ: N.J. bill would help people with criminal records find housing

May 31, 2021 R H

[inquirer.com – 5/31/21] A New Jersey single father of two convicted of drug offenses has been sober for almost two years and has been out of prison for about three. … New Jersey lawmakers are attempting to keep landlords from automatically disqualifying potential tenants who have criminal histories. Instead, bills under consideration encourage landlords to assess each applicant as an individual, taking into account factors such as severity of a crime and the amount of time since it occurred. … Exceptions include applicants who are on sex-offender registries for life.…

IL: ‘Predator hunter’ leader indicted after alleged sting operation to trap supposed sexual predators

May 29, 2021 R H

[nbcnews.com – 5/28/21] An Illinois man who created a Facebook group known to track potential sexual predators was charged in connection with a sting operation that went awry in early January, prosecutors said Monday. Kyle Swanson, 30, was indicted on a charge of unlawful restraint, obstruction of justice and assault in connection with his involvement with the KTS Predators Hunter Organization, according to court records. For more than two years, the vigilante group has posed as children on social media, tricked men into meeting up at public spaces in Illinois…

Unanimous Opposition Repeated During Today’s CDCR Hearing

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021 R H

[ACSOL] For a second time, speakers unanimously stated their opposition today to regulations issued by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that categorically exclude registrants and those sentenced to life without parole from re-sentencing opportunities. Today’s hearing followed an initial hearing on May 7 during which technical difficulties that lasted for more than 20 minutes resulted in the inability of many people to speak about the regulations. “ACSOL thanks the dozens of people who spoke in opposition to CDCR’s regulations,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “CDCR is…

Philippines: Senate approves bill on tougher crackdown vs online child sex abuse

May 27, 2021 R H

[rappler.com – 5/27/21] Senators approved on final reading a bill that would expand government protections against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children. On Thursday, May 27, a total of 23 senators voted to pass Senate Bill (SB) No. 2209 or the proposed Special Protections against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Act. No senator voted against the bill or abstained from the vote. SB 2209 provides a comprehensive list identifying which acts constitute online sexual abuse of children. … The bill would also give additional tools to law…

India: Can rehab for people convicted of a sex offense help combat sexual violence?

May 27, 2021July 21, 2021 R H

[theweek.in] Sexual violence and the fear of sexual abuse has a profound and devastating effect on not only individuals, but entire communities. According to the 2019 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 32,033 rape cases were registered across India; that is an average of 88 cases every day. Since the Nirbhaya gang rape in 2012, public outrage has led to more punitive measures to combat sexual violence, and keeping people convicted of a sex offense in prison for longer seems like an appealing resolve. However, in reality,…

TX: Deputy’s dying confession leads to child sex crime charges

May 27, 2021 R H

[abc13.com – 5/21/21] A deputy reportedly confessed to sexual assault of a child before he took his own life. In the process, he reportedly implicated two female colleagues. They have now been fired, arrested and charged. Watch the video

WI: Clock is ticking for county to find housing for person listed on the registry

May 27, 2021July 21, 2021 R H

[ehextra.com – 5/26/21] MARINETTE — Nothing has changed since about two weeks ago when Marinette County Administrator John Lefebvre told the Administrative Committee the county still has not found a place to house a person convicted of a Wisconsin Chapter 980 sex offense. If the county doesn’t find housing for that person by June 10, it could face monetary sanctions. … At Tuesday’s county board meeting, he said, “At the present time options for placement are limited to none. There are no good viable options.” The county received notice Feb.…

TX: 74-year-old man required to register was wrongly convicted in 1982, Dallas judge finds

May 27, 2021July 21, 2021 R H

[dallasnews.com – 5/27/21] Nearly 40 years after Mallory Vernon Nicholson’s trial, a Dallas County district court judge has agreed with prosecutors and defense lawyers that his convictions for burglary and aggravated sexual abuse of a child should be overturned. Prosecutors in Nicholson’s 1982 trial failed to disclose reports from detectives and a doctor who evaluated the two victims that identified another suspect, according to court records signed last week by Criminal District Court 7 Judge Chika Anyiam. Nicholson “would not have been convicted in light of the suppressed evidence,” the…

TX: [UPDATED] 3 on the run in Texas City murder of man who was reportedly listed on the sex offense registry

May 27, 2021July 21, 2021 R H

UPDATED STATUS: Sex offense registry status may have contributed to Texas City beating death, police say [galvnews.com – 5/29/21] [abc13.com – 5/24/21] TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) — As Texas City police search for three people on the run after a 65-year-old man was beaten to death, details are emerging about what could have led to the attack, including the victim’s past conviction for indecency with a child. Police already have 30-year-old Christopher Daniel Gomez in custody for the murder of Daniel Sanders, who investigators say was jumped outside of Diamond…

CDCR Schedules Second Hearing on May 28 at 10am Regarding Re-sentencing Regulations

May 26, 2021May 30, 2021 webmaster

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has scheduled on May 28, 2021 a second hearing regarding its re-sentencing regulations which categorically deny anyone convicted of a sex offense from re-sentencing opportunities. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. and be held by telephone only. In order to participate in the May 28 hearing, call 1-877-411-9748 and enter participant code 7405289. “This second hearing is being held because many people who wished to address the re-sentencing regulations did not have an opportunity to speak during the first hearing held earlier…

National registry for officers who committed misconduct being tested in LA

May 25, 2021 R H

[yahoo.com – 5/25/21] The goal of the database is to prevent cops who have been fired or resigned from getting rehired at another police department USC’s Safe Communities Institute is developing a national database of police officers who have been terminated or resigned due to misconduct. The first-of-its-kind registry is called the Law Enforcement Work Inquiry System, or LEWIS registry, named after late civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis. The LEWIS Registry aims to bring transparency and accountability to law enforcement, and the announcement coincides with the one-year anniversary of the police-killing…

TN: Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, and TBI team up for Operation Rock & Roll targeting people listed on registry

May 24, 2021July 21, 2021 R H

[localmemphis.com – 5/24/21] MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Sheriff Floyd Bonner, Jr. is pleased to announce the May 21 conclusion of an immensely successful operation with the United States Marshals Service and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which focused on a two-week Sex Offense Registry compliance and fugitive warrant operation named, “OPERATION ROCK & ROLL”. “The Marshals Service was proud to partner with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and TBI on this sex offense registry compliance and fugitive operation,” said U.S. Marshal Tyreece Miller. “Safe communities are a priority for the Marshals,…

MD: Maryland bans sex offenders from being students in pubic schools after Project Baltimore investigation

May 24, 2021May 31, 2021 R H

[foxbaltimore.com – 5/24/21] Baltimore County (WBFF) – Students throughout Maryland are now safer in school. Following a Project Baltimore investigation, Governor Larry Hogan has signed a new law making Maryland the first state in the country to ban registered sex offenders from being students inside public schools. … The new law bans convicted sex offenders from attending Maryland public schools, while setting up alternative means to educate them outside the classroom. Previously, sex offenders could receive special permission by school administrators to enroll. Now, this new law includes a penalty…

CO: Colorado District Attorneys Sound The Alarm Over Bill To Revamp Sex Offender Management

May 24, 2021June 3, 2021 R H

UPDATED: CO: Bill To Transform Sex Offender Management Pulled After Claims It Would Hurt Public Safety [denver.cbslocal.com – 6/3/21] [denver.cbslocal.com – 5/24/21] DENVER (CBS4) – A bill dealing with sex crimes has exploded in controversy at the State Capitol. District attorneys say the bill would allow some of the state’s most violent sex offenders to be released from prison without any treatment. The bill sponsor, Rep. Kerry Tipper, says hundreds of them aren’t getting treatment now because of a long waitlist even though a District Court ruled that sex offenders…

CA: Another convicted sex offender running for student body president at RCC

May 23, 2021 R H

[pe.com – 5/23/21] For the second time in the past eight years, a convicted sex offender is running unopposed for student body president at Riverside City College, and once again it is generating quite a stir among some students. Since enrolling at RCC in January 2019, Albert Steven Jaramillo, 45, of Moreno Valley has been a model student and taken an active role in student government and leadership. Less than three years since his release from prison, he is seeking office in a special election this week, May 25 through…