CT: Nursing home hit with $10,000 fine after alleged sex assault

Source: ctmirror.org 9/30/21 The state Department of Public Health has fined the owners of an East Windsor nursing home $10,000 for failing to protect the safety of their residents and staff when they admitted a 50-year-old registered sex offender from Massachusetts who allegedly tried to sexually assault a nurse. The incident occurred on May 19, when Miguel _____, a convicted rapist and a registered sex offender in Massachusetts with a warrant out for his arrest at that time, allegedly locked a female employee in his room at the Fresh River…

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GA: ‘Her death would not be in vain’: Petition could create new sex offender ID policy for ATL nightlife

Source: cbs46.com 9/30/21 ATLANTA (CBS46) — A new petition could make it harder for sex offenders to get into metro Atlanta bars and night clubs. The petition already has close to 10,000 signatures and it was started by friends of a local bartender who was kidnapped and raped. Chris Anthony said it doesn’t feel like it’s been almost two months since his friend 27-year-old Mariam Abdulrab was taken from him, “Honestly it still feels fresh you know when you don’t have any answers.” Police believe DeMarcus Brinkley kidnapped Abdulrab from her…

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New Study Finds Registries are Ineffective

A new study, published this month in the Journal of Experimental Criminology, finds that “SORN policies demonstrate no effect on recidivism.”  The study is based upon meta-analyses of 18 research articles about 474,640 formerly incarcerated individuals in several states. Read more about the study Download a PDF of the study: The-effectiveness-of-Sex-Offender-Registration-and-Notification-A-meta-analysis-of-25-years-of-findings    

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CA: Dublin Prison Warden Charged With Sexually Abusing Inmate

Source: patch.com 9/30/21 DUBLIN, CA — A Dublin prison warden was charged with sexually abusing at least one woman incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institute Dublin. Ray J. ___, 54, of Merced was charged with one count of sexual abuse of a ward, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. The charge was filed Sept. 24 and unsealed Wednesday. Garcia’s custody situation was not clear. He faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted. Attempts to…

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CA: Demurrer Hearing Scheduled for December 17 in Resentencing Regulations Challenge

Source: ACSOL The Attorney General of California has filed a demurrer in the pending challenge of regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that prohibit anyone convicted of a sex offense from resentencing opportunities.  A hearing regarding the demurrer is scheduled for December 17 at 11 a.m. in Sacramento Superior Court. The challenge to CDCR’s regulations was filed on July 6, 2021, after ACSOL formally opposed the regulations both in an April 2021 letter as well as during two hearings conducted in May 2021.  CDCR’s regulations…

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CO: Sex Offender’s Indeterminate Sentence Upheld as Constitutional

Source: bloomberglaw.com 9/29/21 The indeterminate sentence a Colorado sex offender received didn’t violate his equal protection or due process rights even though he has served 37 years for a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 24 years, the Tenth Circuit said Wednesday. Bruce ____ pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault in 1984. The maximum determinate sentence for the crime was 24 years, but the judge sentenced him under the Colorado Sex Offenders Act to a term of confinement lasting from one day to life imprisonment. Bruce ____ argued that…

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FL: Florida Faces Challenges On Sex Offender Registry

Source: miami.cbslocal.com 9/28/21 TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) — Florida is facing two constitutional challenges from men who live in other states and contend they have been improperly kept on public sex-offender registry lists in Florida. Oregon resident Moji Momeni filed a lawsuit Friday in Leon County circuit court alleging that his constitutional privacy and due-process rights have been violated because Florida continues to list him as a registered sex offender, though he stopped being required to register in Oregon last year. Momeni, who was convicted in 2006 on sexual-abuse charges in Oregon,…

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Philippines: Age of sexual consent

Source: philstar.com 9/29/21 The country has several laws to protect children from domestic violence and sexual abuse. Yet children continue to be victimized. One of the reasons has been the age of sexual consent – at 12 years old the lowest in Asia and one of the lowest in the world. Both chambers of Congress have now given their final nod to their respective measures that will raise the age of sexual consent to 16. Adults who have sex with minors below that age can face prosecution for statutory rape.…

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LA: Lafayette case over Louisiana sex offender identification law could be heard by Supreme Court

Source: theadvocate.com 9/27/21 Louisiana attorneys may know this week whether the U.S. Supreme Court will review a case this term involving a state statute that compels people convicted of sex crimes to carry cards identifying them as sex offenders. High court justices were culling through possible cases to review in the fall starting Monday morning, including one in which former 15th Judicial District Judge Patrick Michot Sr. ruled in 2019 in favor of Tazin A. Hill, formerly of Duson, a convicted sex offender who altered his state-issued identification card to…

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Janice’s Journal: But It’s Not Punishment

As Executive Director of ACSOL, I communicate with registrants and their families almost daily on a variety of topics.  One of the saddest types of calls I receive are from registrants who were recently released from custody for an offense that is not a sex offense. These calls are sad because they are about the fact that a person is being required to comply with the same parole conditions required of a person just released from custody after a sex offense conviction.  These calls are also sad because there are…

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Washington D.C.: Metro board scuttles vote on its contentious proposal to ban people for sex crime arrests

Source: washingtonpost.com 9/23/21 Metro’s board has dropped a proposal to ban people from the transit system who were arrested on suspicion of sex crimes or found to be carrying a dangerous weapon, the board chairman said Thursday. The proposal had been scheduled for a vote this month, prompting more than 100 letters or messages to board members, mostly against the proposal, and protests at Metro stations and in front of a board member’s house. The proposed ban would have allowed Metro Transit Police to immediately suspend people from stations, trains…

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FL: DOJ Now Investigating Florida Sheriff’s Office For Using A Federal Grant To Fund Its ‘Predictive Policing’ Harassment Programs

Source: techdirt.com 9/21/21 The Pasco County (FL) Sheriff’s Office believes in “intelligence-led policing.” This is its formal slang for harassing residents until (in the office’s own words) “they sue or move.” The Sheriff’s Office turns anyone with a criminal background into a suspect-for-life. Deputies visit residences and residents on the “intelligence-led” shit list multiple times a month, demanding answers to questions they have no business asking. When residents fail to comply, nuisance (in every sense of the word) citations are issued for things like uncut grass or missing mailbox numbers.…

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Spreading HIV Is Against the Law in 37 States – With Penalties Ranging Up To Life in Prison

Source: usnews.com 9/22/21 Despite the fact that HIV is now a treatable medical condition, the majority of U.S. states still have laws on the books that criminalize exposing other people to HIV. Whether or not the virus is transmitted does not matter. Neither does a person’s intention to cause harm. A person simply must be aware of being HIV-positive to be found guilty. These laws are enforced mainly on marginalized people living in poverty who cannot afford lawyers. The penalties – felony convictions and being placed on sex offender registries…

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IL: Felony child sex offenders evade background checks, state law to make state fair carnival vehicles in Illinois work

Source: illinoisnewstoday.com 9/22/21 Illinois State Police investigation is “open and ongoing” Agricultural Ministry may terminate carnival company contracts as “indignated” After investigating Target 3 Springfield, Illinois — A registered sex offender six months after the Illinois Correctional Bureau released 41-year-old Jason Flynn from state prison on Ferony’s conviction, including sexual abuse of a 12-year-old child. Was working on a carnival. Equipment near toddlers at the Illinois State Fair. Despite background checks protocols and state law designed to keep child sex offenders away from children at fairs, the WCIA survey is…

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KS: Criminal justice panel hashes out potential changes to Kansas offender registry

TOPEKA — Criminal justice advocates, experts and law enforcement are debating potential changes to the Kansas drug and sex offender registry, including whether registries should be made public and an exit mechanism for some offenders. Of primary concern for the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission Subcommittee on Proportionality and Sentencing is whether drug offenders should be included on a public registry or if that information should be available only to law enforcement. Under Kansas law, those with a drug conviction are required to register on the same public list as…

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CA: Second sex offender found in San Mateo County-owned senior housing

Source: smdailyjournal.com 9/21/21 A second convicted sex offender who found a home in a Redwood Shores hotel turned senior housing complex will be relocated after staff and community members became aware of his convictions months after moving into the site. “All of the proper protocols were followed by the organization and they did everything under the law that they can do in regard to this situation,” County Manager Mike Callagy said about the nonprofit Mid-Pen Housing which operates the senior housing facility, Shores Landing. Freddie _____, 64, was convicted on…

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USA Today Fact Check: Some states require special IDs for people with a sex offense

Source: usatoday.com 9/17/21 The claim: Sex offenders don’t have to carry cards because it ‘violates their privacy’ President Joe Biden announced COVID-19 vaccine requirements Sept. 9 for federal workers and companies with more than 100 employees. That means millions of Americans may soon have to prove they’ve received the shot. A widespread claim on social media attempts to make a point by comparing that potential requirement to those for sex offenders. “There are 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S. and they don’t carry a card because it ‘violates their privacy,’”…

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ACSOL October 16, 2021 Meeting is now on Zoom!

We are now using Zoom instead of a phone conference, although you can still call in using a Zoom phone number instead of using the Zoom app! Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next monthly meeting.  The meeting will be held on Saturday, October 16, 2021, beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific Time and will last at least two hours. This meeting will be recorded and then posted as an audio recording within…

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