March 2022 - Page 2 of 2

WI: Kenosha Sex Offender Residency Board votes to allow man to reside near middle school despite objections for constitutional reasons

March 11, 2022 R H

Source: apg-wi.com 3/11/22 The Kenosha Sex Offender Residency Board, in a decision decried by residents who spoke against it, authorized an exemption to the city’s restrictions to allow a registered offender to live near a middle school. The board voted unanimously Thursday evening to allow Ronald W. _____ to reside in the 7900 block of 46th Avenue. The board made up of Veronica King and Lester Wright met in closed session before reaching their decision. Roughly a dozen concerned residents attended the meeting to voice their opposition to the exemption.…

NC: Child Safety Zones proposed at bus stops

March 10, 2022 R H

Source: taylorsvilletimes.com 3/10/22 Alexander County Commissioners held a public hearing at their March 7, 2022, meeting on a proposed county ordinance to establish child safety zones in Alexander County. Sheriff Chris Bowman said he received a call several months ago from a concerned parent regarding a registered sex offender parking at school bus stops. Detectives Buddy McKinney and Dennis Foster started investigating the matter, and discovered that the state statute doesn’t include bus stops in the “sex offender unlawfully on premises” section. Sheriff Bowman said that Henderson County has adopted…

SC: Proposed Horry County law would ban any type of sex offender from owning child-focused businesses

March 9, 2022 R H

Source: wsav.com 3/9/22 HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Sex offenders in Horry County could be banned from operating child-oriented businesses, under a new proposal. The push comes after a local business owner and parent spoke to the Horry County County Council in September about a local sex offender who wanted to park his ice cream truck in the business owner’s lot and sell ice cream to children. Adam Wiseman told county council that his neighbor suggested he should look up the ice cream truck’s owner. Wiseman asked the council to…

PA: Rep. Matzie introduces bill that would require Megan’s Law guidelines for nursing homes

March 9, 2022 R H

Source: timesonline.com 3/9/22 HARRISBURG — State Rep. Robert Matzie, D-16, Harmony Township, recently introduced a bill that would establish care and reporting requirements in nursing homes, through Megan’s Law. “Right now, when a registered sexual offender is admitted to a Pennsylvania nursing home, the home is not required to disclose this to other residents or staff – or to develop any special plans to ensure their safety,” he said. “The situation has resulted in attacks on residents, and the threat will only grow as thousands of registered sex offenders continue aging and…

Tinder to offer criminal background check on dates

March 9, 2022 R H

Source: boston25news.com 3/9/22 The popular dating app Tinder has announced it will offer users the ability to perform background checks on their date as a safety measure. >> Read more trending news The new tool will be integrated into the app’s “Safety Center” and will appear for users beginning this week, CNN reported. Tinder, which is owned by Match Groups, announced last year their partnership with Garbo, a nonprofit group that collects public records and reports of violence and abuse, and plans to make the new feature available, as we…

Is the Sex Offender Registry Fair?

March 9, 2022 R H

Source: thecrimereport.org 3/9/22 Sexual offenses are serious crimes. There is no doubt that the intentions behind creating the laws meant to punish and deter sex offenders were noble. However, according to opponents of the sex offender registration laws, such as Human Rights Watch, there is no proof that these laws achieved the purpose they were designed for. As a former sex crimes prosecutor, I share that skepticism. It’s one reason why, after years of serving as Chief of the Sex Unit and Chief of the Child Abuse Unit in Macomb…

FL: Homeless sex offenders arrested in December released, illustrates systemic issue, attorney says

March 8, 2022 R H

Source: floridatoday.com 3/8/22 Seven Brevard sex offenders arrested in December after their homeless camp was shutdown, were released from jail in January and February and their charges dismissed, court records show. They’ve all returned to the community but have lost their jobs and belongings. They are being housed in a Brevard hotel, according to the Florida sex offender registry. The men previously lived in a homeless camp set up on vacant, private land at 4820 U.S. 192 near Melbourne. Their GPS monitors and ankle bracelets were registered to the camp, requiring them to return there by a set…

ACSOL Nationwide Action Alert: Write to Support the Approved ALI Model Penal Code

March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 R H

Source: ACSOL During its May 2022 meeting, Members of the American Law Institute (ALI) will consider revisions to the Model Penal Code approved by the ALI Council last week. “ALI members must vote upon the version of the Model Penal Code approved by the ALI Council,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The ALI members will do this during their annual meeting which is scheduled to take place on May 16 through May 18 in Washington, D.C. If ALI members do not agree to what their Council has approved, we…

Supreme Court won’t review decision that freed Bill Cosby from prison

March 7, 2022 R H

Source: kcra.com 3/7/22 WASHINGTON —The Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby, leaving in place a decision by Pennsylvania’s highest court to throw out his conviction and set him free from prison. The high court declined prosecutors’ request to hear the case and reinstate Cosby’s conviction. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last year threw out Cosby’s conviction, saying the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby. Read the full article

MN: Group pushes to take children off Minnesota’s Predatory Offender Registry

March 7, 2022 R H

Source: msn.com 3/5/22 MINNEAPOLIS — Patty Wetterling just wanted the person who kidnapped her son to be caught. She never imagined her pursuit would lead to the creation of a list of more than 18,000 predatory offenders in Minnesota that could include children as young as 10 years old. “It was never intended to have 10-year-olds on the sex offender registry,” said Wetterling, whose son Jacob was abducted and murdered in 1989 when he was 11. “It would be laughable if it wasn’t so devastating.” Wetterling was one of more…

OK: City to assess sex offender requirements for proposed shelter

March 6, 2022 R H

Source: normantranscript.com 3/5/22 City officials have been asked to assess whether Norman’s proposed location for a homeless shelter meets state and federal requirements for sex offender lodging. … The requested assessment follows meetings Ward 5 Rarchar Tortorello had with Le Monde school officials over concerns about the proximity of the shelter to the school, specifically in reference to sex offenders in the area, said City Manager Darrel Pyle. … While the study states recidivism for crime in general is higher than for sex crimes, it also states recidivism rates underestimate…

CA: Contra Costa County Grants Registrant’s Petition

March 4, 2022 R H

Source: ACSOL Contra Costa County granted yesterday a petition filed on behalf of a registrant convicted of PC 288(a) in 1986. This is the second known petition granted by Contra Costa county so far. The first petition granted in Contra Costa county took place on December 2, 2021, for a different registrant convicted of the same offense. In both cases, the District Attorney did not object to the petitions. “Many courts in California are granting petitions filed by or on behalf of eligible registrants,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. …

ALI Council Approves Most of Model Penal Code

March 4, 2022December 2, 2022 webmaster

The Council of the American Law Institute (ALI) has approved most of the model penal code (MPC) adopted by its members. The Council’s approval took place during its meeting held this week following a decision in January to delay consideration of the model penal code. The most significant portions of the MPC include: (1) significant reduction in the number of offenses that require registration, (2) maximum registration period of 15 years, (3) elimination of all public registries and (4) prohibition against many collateral consequences. “The American Law Institute is to…

MS: AG Fitch Continues to Fight ALI Proposal to Weaken Laws on Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, and Sex Offender Registration

March 3, 2022 R H

Source: mageenews.com 3/2/22 Attorney General Lynn Fitch this week wrote The American Law Institute (ALI) to ask its members to again defer consideration of proposed revisions to Section 213 of the Model Penal Code (MPC) that would weaken the ability of States to prosecute sexual assault, abuse, and exploitation; human trafficking; and sex offender registration. “Laws against child exploitation, human trafficking, and sexual assault need to be tough to protect the young and vulnerable from predators,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “The ALI is weakening the laws, just when we…

ACSOL March 19, 2022 Meeting

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022 R H

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 meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, March 19, on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 PM Eastern, and will last at least two hours. You can use the Zoom app or call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting. You can use the Zoom app to see Janice and Chance and choose to show…

Biden’s SCOTUS nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson once argued judicial system is ‘unfair’ to sexual predators

March 1, 2022 R H

Source: thepostmillennial.com 2/28/21 President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson once authored an unsigned “Note” in the Harvard Law Review arguing that America’s judicial system is “unfair” to sexual predators, according to findings discovered by an American Accountability Foundation investigation. Jackson argued the unconstitutionality of certain preventative measures adopted as common practices by state governments and applied to confirmed sex offenders. Per the Harvard Law Review article “Prevention Versus Punishment: Toward a Principled Distinction in the Restraint of Released Sex Offenders,” she argued that America’s judicial approaches…

General Comments Mar 2022

March 1, 2022November 2, 2021 webmaster

Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Mar 2022. 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.