UPDATED NEWS: CA Senate Bill 615 Temporarily Suspended Please write to oppose California Senate Bill 615, which would harm the LGBTQ community! Senator Melissa Melendez (Republican, Riverside) has introduced a bill, that if enacted into law, would significantly reduce the benefits of former Senate Bill 145, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (Democrat, San Francisco). Specifically, the Senate Bill 615 would require anyone convicted of committing certain sexual acts with a minor more than three years younger to register as a sex offender. The existing law, established in former Senate Bill…
Read MoreYear: 2021
Number of Total CA Registrants Increases; Homeless and Registrants in Violation Decrease
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) reported today that the number of registrants in California has increased slightly, from a total of 108,106 to a total of 108,189, during the past month. In addition, the number of registrants living in the community has increased from 82,526 to 82,585. There were slight decreases, however, in the number of registrants who are in violation (from 18,565 to 18,519) and the number who are homeless (from 6,994 to 6,938). CASOMB also reported that there are 7,244 registrants currently on parole who are…
Read MoreAcademy Expels Registered Sex Offender Adam _____ After Variety Investigation
[variety.com – 3/17/21] After a story in Variety in November exposed the fact that registered sex offender — and noted cinematographer — Adam ____ has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2007, the organization has taken action and removed him. An Academy source confirmed to Variety that Adam ____ is no longer a member. When asked for a comment, a representative for the Academy did not immediately respond. Adam ____ also appears no longer to be in the American Society of Cinematographers, an…
Read MoreMN: Upcoming sex offense bills
[leg.mn.gov] Minnesota State Legislature bill search by “Crimes and Criminals-Sexual Offenses” The following is a partial list of proposed bills / laws regarding sex offenses that could possibly be up for a vote this legislative session. Use the link above to do a current search. 1. SF1730 / No HR introduced – Sex trafficking of a child added to the definition of “Substantial Child Endangerment” 2. SF1466 / HF409 – Terminating parental rights of the perpetrator for any child conceived due to the commission of a sexual conduct crime. This…
Read MoreNew Zealand: Ex-NZ First MP Darroch Ball, advocating for victims, blasts ‘out of touch’ Greens for opposing child sex offender list
[newshub.co.nz – 3/17/21] Former NZ First MP Darroch Ball, who advocates on behalf of victims, has described the Greens as “out of touch” for opposing the registration of child sex offenders. Nearly 600 child sex offenders will be put back on the national register after MPs rushed through urgent, retrospective changes on Wednesday to the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) Act 2016. The Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that the law was not clear enough when it came to people who committed an offence before it came…
Read MorePatty Wetterling
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/17/21] Dear Florida Action Committee Members and Advocates, So much respect is deserved by Patty Wetterling. In 1989, Patty’s son Jacob was abducted and killed near their home in Minnesota. Three years after Jacob’s abduction, Minnesota enacted a registry in his memory and a couple years after that, the federal government did the same. In fact, the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act was the federal law that proceeded the Adam Walsh Act and was the original federal law that required states to…
Read MoreUse science, not stigma, to determine the next steps for Nushawn Williams (Commentary)
[syracuse.com – 3/16/21] Dr. William M. Valenti is a New York state-licensed physician in practice in Rochester. He has worked in HIV medicine, research and HIV health policy since 1981. Anne Kelsey is a staff attorney at the Center for HIV Law and Policy, in Brooklyn. In 1999, Nushawn Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape and two counts of reckless endangerment for having sex while HIV positive at the age of 19 and 20 years old. He served the full sentence of 12 years, but days before…
Read MoreUK: People Are Calling For Stalkers To Have A Register Like Sex Offenders
[tyla.com – 3/16/21] Following increased calls for the UK government to introduce greater safety measures for women, a Change.org petition is calling for a stalkers’ register. Paladin National Stalking Advocacy Service founder Laura Richards started the petition which has accumulated over 232,000 signatures. “We need to act now to save lives by protecting women from serial stalkers and domestic violence perpetrators by extending the Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements to ensure that police, prison and probation services pro-actively identify, track, monitor and manage serial perpetrators,” explains Laura in the petition’s description.…
Read MoreKY: Senate panel advances bill supporting child sex-abuse victims
[forwardky.com – 3/16/21] A bill that would extend the statute of limitations for misdemeanor sex offenses involving minors from five to ten years after their eighteenth birthday is progressing through the Legislature. Written by Nadia Ramlagan of Kentucky News Connection Supporters of House Bill 472, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Bechler, R-Marion, said it will help more survivors be heard and their perpetrators held accountable. Nationwide, one in four girls and one in thirteen boys will experience sexual abuse, and 34% of all victims are younger than 12, according to data…
Read MoreIN: Bill would allow adults to be charged for sex crimes they committed years earlier as minors
[indystar.com – 3/16/21] Indiana lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow courts to charge people over the age of 21 as adults for child molestation acts they committed when they were teenagers. Supporters say they are trying to address an unintentional gap in Indiana law. They say there is no way to criminally convict those who are over 21 years old for child molestation acts they committed as teenagers. “There’s a gap in the law where the perpetrator has no accountability,” said David Powell, a representative from the Prosecuting…
Read MoreAL: Mill Street tent camp residents concerned over relocation
[whnt.com – 3/16/21] HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Several residents of a tent camp on Mill Street are expressing their concerns over the forced move to a different location. Some homeless Huntsville residents have until the end of the week to move as the city works on flood mitigation on Mill Street. While some may transition to service centers, many won’t or can’t. Instead, they will be moved to another tent camp on Derrick Street, but that presents another problem. People living at the Mill Street tent camp say there are several…
Read MoreCA: Old age not reason enough to release sex offender, state court rules
[sfchronicle.com – 3/16/21] Earl _____ has had multiple convictions for child molesting, the last one in 1988. After being held for 20 years in a state mental hospital awaiting a verdict on whether he should be confined as a “sexually violent predator,” _____ argued that, at age 74, and with no record of violence for many decades, he is too old to be dangerous. A state appeals court was unpersuaded. “While a person may ‘slow down’ with age, it does not necessarily follow that interest in sexual deviancy slows down.…
Read MoreIN: Annual Fee for Sex Offender Registration introduced in Vigo County
The Vigo County Council approved an ordinance establishing fees for sex offenders. The ordinance will set a $50 annual fee for sex or violent offender registration and a $5 for each time a sex or violent offender registers an address change. Vigo County Commissioner Chris Switzer says that Sheriff Plasse approached the County Commissioners with this idea last year. COVID-19 pushed it back a bit, but he says he’s happy the County was able to get this passed. Full Article
Read MoreTinder users will soon be able to access a background check database
[engadget.com – 3/15/21] The data is coming first to Tinder, but will probably be in other Match Group apps as well. The owner of massive dating apps Tinder and Match has just announced a new partnership to help keep its users safe. Match Group, which owns Tinder, Match, OK Cupid, Hinge and several other services, has made an investment in Garbo, a non-profit, female-founded background check platform. As part of the deal, Garbo’s platform will be available to people using Match Group apps, starting with Tinder later this year. If…
Read MoreTX: Proposed Kyle sex offender law has supporters and opponents
[communityimpact.com – 3/15/21] Kyle City Council will consider passing a new ordinance which would restrict where some individuals on the Texas sex offender registry can reside, regardless of whether or not the offender is on probation or parole. The ordinance, brought to council by Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett, specifically targets offenders convicted of crimes involving minors. Of the city’s 67 residents on the registry, nine were convicted of minor-related crimes. Kyle does not have the most sex offenders in the region—New Braunfels has 106—but its ratio to normal residents…
Read MoreAction Alert: Oppose Florida Senate Bill 932 Time-Share Block
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/15/21] [Note from ACSOL: the bill applies only to registrants in Florida, however, sometimes legislators are swayed by input from those in other states] Florida Action Committee website article: Florida Senate Bill 932 is on the Agenda to go before the Criminal Justice Committee tomorrow 03/16/21 at 12:30 pm. SB 932 prohibits a court from granting time-sharing with a minor child to a parent registered as a sexual offender or sexual predator. It literally says timesharing MAY NOT be given to a registrant parent unless a judge makes…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Brothers and Sisters in Pain
What did I do to deserve a life sentence of pain? My motive rejected, judged my behavior a crime. Stunned at the devastating repercussions of my action. The act complete, my destiny sealed, my life shattered. The impact crushed my identity, an annihilation of my worth. The alarming, unreal raid, a SWAT team brandishing assault rifles. Or a subtle summon to appear before a biased, hardened judge. My life ending, my family, friends, church condemning. My reality, years of painful imprisonment, penetrating shame. Alone, I mulled over and over again…
Read MoreCA: Sex offender found dead in suspected homicide at San Quentin State Prison
[ktla.com – 3/10/21] A 66-year-old inmate was found unresponsive in his cell at San Quentin State Prison early Wednesday, and state corrections officials said they are treating his death as a homicide. John Sullivan had served half of his 10-year sentence from Placer County for failing to register as a sex offender, a second-strike. He was found during a head count shortly after midnight and pronounced dead less than 40 minutes later. Officials said they suspect his 28-year-old cellmate in the death. He has not been charged, but was serving…
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