Source: msn.com 8/19/22 An Arizona judge overseeing a high-profile lawsuit accusing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of conspiring to cover-up child sex abuse has ruled that the church may not refuse to answer questions or turn over documents under the state’s “clergy-penitent privilege.” Clergy in Arizona, as in many other states, are required to report information about child sexual abuse or neglect to law enforcement or child welfare authorities. But an exception to that law — the privilege — allows members of the clergy who learn of…
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CA: A bill that would seal certain criminal records could open doors for millions of Californians
Source: latimes.com 8/18/22 SACRAMENTO — State lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation that would allow some Californians with criminal convictions to have those records sealed if they maintain a clean record, a move cheered by criminal justice reform advocates and harshly criticized by law enforcement. Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat who wrote Senate Bill 731, said sealing the records would remove burdens on previously incarcerated individuals who face discrimination once they reenter society, including when applying for jobs and places to live. Because California law keeps criminal records public, even…
Read MoreCompelling Law Review Article Provides New Tool for Challenging Sex Offender Laws
There is a new and compelling law review article that provides a new tool for anyone who is considering a challenge to a sex offender law. That article, Panicked Legislation, is written by law professor and ACSOL vice president Catherine Carpenter who will speak about the article on October 1 during ACSOL’s annual conference. The tool described in the law review article is the Irrebuttable Presumption Doctrine which can be used “to combat false presumptions in legislation that masquerade as universal truths.” For example, many courts have falsely stated that…
Read MoreCA Petitions Filed, Granted and Denied
Source: ACSOL The total number of petitions filed during the first year was 2,798 according to the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ). Of that total, 1,442 petitions have been granted and only 30 petitions have been denied. The remaining number of petitions are pending. The CA DOJ has reported that 1,306 of these petitions filed were filed by or on behalf of individuals assigned to Tier 1, the lowest tier. Of that total, 665 petitions were granted and 10 petitions were denied. The CA DOJ has also reported that…
Read More****Fifth Update: SORNA Regulations Hearing Rescheduled for Sept 12, 9am PT. Zoom available.
Source: ACSOL Update as of Aug 17, 2022: The hearing date has again changed. The new hearing date is now set for Sept 12, 2022 at 9:00 am Pacific Time. Click below to read the document filed with court requesting that the judge change the hearing date from Aug. 29 to another date to be determined. The reason given is that the assistant U.S. attorney has a scheduling conflict. Stip to Continue date for hearing on PI motion – Aug 2022 A hearing is in a federal district court to…
Read MoreTN: From registry to life sentence: Has Tennessee’s sex offender registry gone too far?
Source: newschannel5.com 8/15/22 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Attorneys have called for a change to the Tennessee sex offender registry they said created an unconstitutional punishment as legislators added more restrictions each year. Thomas has lived in Nashville almost all his life, but he’s rarely seen beyond work and the occasional grocery store run. Those trips are usually done within 15 minutes of the store closing. Thomas seems to think it’s safer that way, so for that reason, NewsChannel 5 Investigates will stick with first names. It’s life as he’s known…
Read MoreTX: A Texas man convicted of child sexual assault died after chugging from a water bottle as the verdict was read
Source: nbcnews.com 8/12/22 A Texas man charged with five counts of child sexual assault died after a jury convicted him and he chugged a bottle of liquid in the courtroom, his lawyer said Friday. After the first count was read on Thursday afternoon and the Denton County jury returned a guilty verdict, Edward Leclair, 57, started drinking from a plastic water bottle filled with what appeared to be clear liquid, lawyer Mike Howard said. “I looked over and noticed him drinking,” Howard said. “His hand was shaking. At the time,…
Read MoreWI: The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has restored a lawsuit over Hartland’s limit on sex offenders
Source: jsonline.com 8/12/22 A small Wisconsin town’s attempt to ban more sex offenders from living there flunks one of two tests that would make it unconstitutional, a federal appeals court has ruled. The decision sent the matter back to a lower court for argument about the second test, and whether the local law should be thrown out. Hartland adopted an ordinance in 2018 after it felt it had more offenders per capita than other Waukesha County communities. A sex offender who wanted to move there sued, claiming the ordinance amounted to an…
Read MorePA: Licensed Pennsylvania sex therapist defends ‘minor-attracted persons’ in viral video
Source: foxnews.com 8/11/22 A licensed sex therapist and counselor sparked backlash on social media after posting a video where she appeared to defend “minor-attracted persons.” “They are probably the most vilified population of folks in our culture,” Miranda Galbreath says in the video posted on YouTube titled “Let’s talk about minor-attracted persons.” Galbreath goes on to explain that “most folks” make “incorrect assumptions” about “minor-attracted persons” and those assumptions “create harm for an already marginalized population.” “The term pedophile has moved from being a diagnostic label to being a judgmental,…
Read MoreCA: L.A. sheriff’s deputy charged with over 30 counts of sex crimes involving children
Source: cbsnews.com 8/11/22 A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy has been charged with over 30 counts of sex crimes involving children, CBS Los Angeles reports. “Sexually assaulting a child not only robs them of their innocence but also leaves lasting mental trauma. This is one of the most egregious crimes my office encounters and it is made worse when the crime is committed by someone who has been entrusted to protect them and our community from harm,” District Attorney Gascón said. On Tuesday, Deputy Sean ___ was indicted by a grand…
Read MoreFL: Brevard County sticks by tough ordinance restricting sex offenders
Source: floridatoday.com 8/8/22 Brevard County commissioners reaffirmed their tough stance toward registered sex offenders by making only making minor changes to a regulation limiting where they can go — even as the measure is being challenged in court. The commission updated section 74 of the county code on Tuesday to allow businesses to register as a park so long as the business is used for recreation and is a place that children regularly visit. That will enable the owner to create a 1,000-foot buffer zone prohibiting any individual on the sex offender registry from visiting…
Read MoreWI: 7th Circuit Rules Residency Restriction is Retroactive
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision today in which it declared retroactive a law in The Village of Hartland, Wisconsin, that severely limits the number of registrants who can reside in that town. Today’s decision signaled a reversal of that Court’s prior decisions which held that a new law can be applied to individuals convicted of a sex offense prior to the passage of that law. The Court noted that its ruling today meets the requirements of only one of the two requirements necessary to determine that…
Read MoreFL: FDLE beginning investigation into death of Blackwater Corrections inmate
Source: yahoo.com 8/3/22 The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating an inmate’s death at the Blackwater River Correctional Facility. FDLE’s Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams told the News Journal the agency is investigating the death of 35-year-old Andrew Thompson, but could not provide further information. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Thompson died on July 27. Thompson was arrested in March 2021 and was sentenced to 45 years in prison on April 4, 2022, after pleading no contest to 12 counts of possessing child pornography and one…
Read MorePA: Court upholds sex offender registration as constitutional
Source: huntingdondailynews.com 8/3/22 An attempt by a Petersburg man to be released from lifetime sexual offender registration failed last month when Pennsylvania’s Superior Court asserted registration is a “non-punitive, collateral consequence of his conviction” and not a violation of his constitutional rights. … According to the decision issued by the Superior Court in Howard’s case, Howard argued lifetime registration is “cruel and unusual punishment” and therefore violates his constitutional rights as outlined in the U.S. Constitution’s 8th Amendment. In its decision, written by the state Judge Alice Beck Dubow, the…
Read MoreIL: Plan moves ahead to create Joliet park too close for sex offenders to remain in their apartments
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Source: shawlocal.com 8/4/22 The city of Joliet is about to become the owner of a fire-damaged house acquired for the strategic purpose of forcing out registered sex offenders who live a block away. The Joliet City Council on Tuesday approved the acquisition of the unoccupied house at 1000 N. Center St. at a price of $124,000. City officials, siding with Cunningham neighborhood residents alarmed about an apartment house that has been converted to living quarters for a half-dozen registered sex offenders, say they intend to build a park on the…
Read MoreTN: Tennessee nurses push for new law to add protection from sex offenders
Source: wkrn.com 8/4/22 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nurses in Nashville are hoping to put a new bill on the books that would add another layer of protection against registered sex offenders. “We face anything from any gross sexual comments, people have been threatened, and unfortunately, they have been trapped in a room where the patient has been a wall between the door and the nurse themselves, so it’s scary,” said nurse Ciearria. She asked News 2, not to reveal where she works but says sexual harassment has become a constant.…
Read MoreNC: ‘Operation Simon Says’: Authorities conduct sex offender compliance op in Union County area
Source: fox46.com 8/3/22 MONROE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Law enforcement officers conducted a “large-scale sex offender operation” around Union County late last month to ensure that convicted sex offenders in the area were in compliance with state laws, according to the Union County Sheriff’s Office. Officials said teams from UCSO, the U.S. Marshals Service and the NC Department of Public Safety conducted compliance checks on around 75 convicted sex offenders. Out of the 75 offenders, authorities said 53 were in full compliance with their registration, residential and personal restrictions…
Read MoreCA: False Government Documents Used in Scam Netting About $10,000
Source: ACSOL It has been reported that false government documents were used this week in a scam operation netting almost $10,000 from a registrant. The false documents reportedly required the registrant to pay a large sum of money in order to avoid arrest. The false government documents included an “Order of Arrest” from Riverside County that appeared to be signed by both a judge and a police sergeant. The false documents also included a document from the Office of the Governor and the California Sex Offender Management Board. “The use…
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