December 2022

CA: Colleges experiment with restorative justice in sexual assault cases

December 30, 2022 R H

Source: calmatters.org/ 12/28/22 When a sexual assault survivor walks into Alexandra Fulcher’s office at Occidental College, it’s the first step in a process fraught with consequences for both the survivor and the accused. If Fulcher, the school’s Title IX director, launches an official investigation, the survivor could be asked to recount their trauma and cross-examined about it in a live hearing. Their alleged assaulter could be expelled. But for the past year, survivors at Occidental have had another option. They can participate in a restorative justice conference with the person…

SC: Stepdaughter of Shield Ministries director fights against his sex offender rehab plans

December 29, 2022December 31, 2022 R H

Source: abcnews4.com 12/29/22 Walterboro residents are coming together to keep registered sex offenders out of their neighborhood. Shield Ministries, a nonprofit organization, is planning to open their third treatment center at a vacant church campus in Walterboro. In Shield Ministries’ 2021 annual report, 70 percent of their applicants are registered as sex offenders. Neighbors say that has them worried for their children. “When parents can’t let their children go out to their yard and play because of fear, what quality of life is that?” asked Kevin Lyles, a resident who…

CA: Nearly 300 Sue Over Alleged Sexual Abuse at LA County Youth Detention Centers

December 29, 2022 R H

Source: nbclosangeles.com 12/28/22 Nearly 300 people are suing Los Angeles County, alleging decades-long sexual abuse in various detention centers for minors. The third complaint against the LA County Probation Department was accuses probation officers of sexually abusing boys and girls. The suit was filed thanks to a 2020 California law that gave victims three years to sue over sexual abuse that happened decades ago. The latest lawsuit, which involves 279 alleged victims of sexual abuse at LA County detention centers for minors, follows two previously filed suits involving 70 women.…

IL: New Illinois sex offense laws taking effect Jan. 1

December 28, 2022January 3, 2023 R H

Source: mystateline.com 12/28/22 A handful of new Illinois laws that deal with sex offenses will go into effect Jan. 1. The first, filed as House Bill 4593, places the burden of proof on a defendant accused of soliciting sex from a minor or intellectually disabled person and claims they did not know the victim was a minor or disabled. Anyone who uses the defense must prove they were unaware of the age or disability status of the victim. Currently, that burden of proof is on the state. Gov. JB Pritzker…

CA: Sexual misconduct allegations made against California correctional officer; 22 potential victims identified

December 28, 2022December 28, 2022 R H

Source: ktla.com 12/28/22 Allegations that a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officer sexually abused nearly two dozen incarcerated women has been sent to a district attorney’s office for possible charges, CDCR officials said Wednesday. An investigation began in July after the CDCR’s Office of Internal Affairs discovered information that suggested Officer Gregory was assaulting women at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. Officials identified more than 22 potential victims as a result of the investigation, the CDCR stated in a news release. “____ shamefully hid behind his badge…

WY: Although Dept Of Corrections Wanted Child Sex Abuser On Probation, Wyo Supreme Court Says No

December 27, 2022January 13, 2023 R H

Source: cowboystatedaily.com 12/27/22 A Riverton man sentenced to a decade in prison for sexually abusing a 5-year-old while he was in his late teens is not entitled to have his sentence reduced to probation after completing Wyoming’s Youthful Offender Transition Program, the Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled. Joshua ____, 22, was sentenced by Fremont County District Court in June 2021 to between eight and 12 years in prison for sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl when he was 17. That sentence was reduced to between six and 10 years…

CT: The man who vanished

December 24, 2022 R H

Source: timesunion.com 12/17/22 THOMPSON, N.Y. — Something was wrong with David’s roommate. It was Monday morning, Dec. 5, and David was about to leave for work. He hadn’t laid eyes on Richard King, his friend of almost a decade, since Friday. Normally, Rich was out of the house they shared in this rural wedge of Sullivan County by the time David left for his job at the local high school. But when he saw his roommate’s car in the garage, David’s heart sank. “That was very unusual,” said the 46-year-old…

TN: Chattanooga, Hamilton County money not housing sex offenders from Budgetel

December 24, 2022 R H

Source: timesfreepress.com 12/22/22 No registered sex offenders displaced from the Budgetel Inn last month are being housed with city or county money, officials said after Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp sent an email this week objecting to “free hotel rooms for child molesters.” Wamp identified four registered sex offenders who had been living at the East Ridge motel before she sought and received a court order for its closure as a public nuisance, and a fifth was later identified by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Since the sudden shutdown,…

An autistic man was surfing the internet on his dad’s sofa. Then the FBI turned up

December 24, 2022 R H

Source: economist.com 11/21/22 If you read Brandon Fleury a story when he was three, he’d recite it back to you word for word. His father Patrick, then a professional tennis coach, was both bemused and impressed by his physically awkward son. He would tell people about Brandon’s capacity for mimicry – eventually he found himself explaining it to a jury. Brandon had a tough childhood. One night when he was five and lying in bed with his mother, she had a pulmonary embolism and died. Fleury became a full-time single…

CA: California county bans landlords from conducting criminal background checks for housing

December 23, 2022 R H

Source: foxnews.com 12/22/22 A California county has passed an ordinance that will ban landlords from conducting criminal background checks on prospective tenants, a move made in an effort to make it easier to get housing and curb discrimination. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to adopt a Fair Chance housing ordinance. One member abstained. The ordinance is part of a package of tenant protection bills. The measure will prohibit both private and public landlords from requiring applicants to disclose arrests or convictions. It also bans advertising…

How Does Megan’s Law Impact Real Estate Disclosure?

December 22, 2022 R H

Source: rismedia.com 12/22/22 Whether you are buying or selling a home, Megan’s Law could affect whether the real estate transaction proceeds. If you have a family, you want to ensure they will be safe in their new home. When asked, “Are there any sexual offenders near me?” Megan’s Law helps you find out. We will examine this law and how it can affect real estate disclosures. What is Megan’s Law? Megan’s Law requires sex offenders to have their names in a register, and sometimes they also need to notify law…

GOP Congressmembers who are very concerned about grooming vote against child sex abuse bill

December 22, 2022 R H

Source: msn.com 12/22/22 Numerous Republican Congressmembers who have accused LGBTQ+ people of sexualizing children just voted against a bill that would help the actual victims of child sex abuse. Many of these 28 Republicans have been using “grooming” to score political points. They weren’t willing to vote for a real bill to fight child sex abuse. The bill, entitled Respect for Child Survivors Act, was developed with input from child welfare groups to address the mistreatment that child witnesses sometimes face during investigations of their own abuse. The bill requires…

CA: UK’s DailyMail spreads stereotypes and lies about registrants

December 22, 2022January 13, 2023 R H

Source: dailymail.co.uk 12/21/22 DailyMail.com’s analysis of a California sex offender database reveals that nearly 2,000 convicted pedophiles are living together in groups of three or more in ‘pedophile dens’ in the state Some of the ‘pedophile dens’ are just a block away from schools DailyMail.com also spoke to residents of the ‘dens’ and even got a tour of one property housing several child molesters We can reveal that a $1million, 6-bed home in Northridge, California, with a tennis court, is home to six pedophiles with some of the most heinous…

Appellate Court Denies Registrants Access to Jury Service

December 21, 2022December 21, 2022 R H

Source: ACSOL An appellate court in California today issued a decision that, in effect, denies everyone convicted of a felony sex offense who is currently required to register from serving on a jury. According to that court, serving as a juror “is not a fundamental right” and the exclusion of those registrants from juries “serves the legitimate state goal of ensuring impartial jury verdicts.” Today’s decision by the First Appellate District Court of Appeal is the court’s response to an appeal filed in November 2021. In that appeal, plaintiffs asked…

Take the survey on current and future reformist/abolitionist efforts

December 21, 2022 R H

Source: Derek W. Logue of OnceFallen.com Many of you will be familiar with the name Derek Logue and Once Fallen. Derek has asked that we share this survey with our supporters. Here is Derek’s message: The fight to reform or abolish the public sex offense registry began when Megan’s Law was signed in 1996, and over the years, efforts to challenge the public registry have grown larger and more organized. Those who identify as registry reformists or abolitionists are not a homogeneous group– some of us are on the registry,…

Action Alert: International Megan’s Law (IML) failed victims of sexual abuse overseas as federal agent sexually abuses children in the Philippines

December 21, 2022 R H

Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 12/21/22 International Megan’s Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders (IML) was supposed to be a tool for the federal government to notify other countries regarding the international travel of sex offenders. In theory, it was supposed to authorize federal agents to provide warnings in the form of a “green notice” to the receiving country. By providing this notice, the receiving country could protect their children from sexual abuse. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Smith said, “With its…

FBI finds sharp rise in online extortion of teens tricked into sending sexually explicit photos

December 20, 2022 R H

Source: pbs.org 12/19/22 WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI sounded the alarm Monday about an explosive increase in teenage boys being targeted online and extorted for money after being tricked into sending sexually explicit pictures. At least 3,000 children, mostly teenage boys, have been victims of the schemes that are connected to more than a dozen suicides this year, a scale that U.S. authorities have not seen before, Justice Department officials said. Many think they are chatting online with kids around their own age but are quickly manipulated into sending explicit…