Source: chronicletimes.com 8/31/23 Officials with the Iowa Department of Correctional Services have expressed concern over a disproportionate share of sex offenders from the Civil Commitment Unit for Sex Offenders being discharged in Cherokee and surrounding counties. Maureen Hansen, director of the DOCS’s third judicial district, told the Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors last month a “concerning development” is CCUSO patient discharges to the area “where they otherwise wouldn’t be connected.” Hansen acknowledged to the supervisors some of the patients that have either been discharged or nearing discharge from the…
Read MoreMonth: August 2023
OH: Sex Offender’s Out-of-State Registration Counts Toward Ohio Sex Offense Reporting Requirement
Source: courtnewsohio.gov 8/31/23 A man convicted under an Ohio sex offender reporting law completed his 10-year registration requirements while living in Kentucky and did not have to start the reporting period over when he moved to Ohio, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office contention that Michael Schilling’s Ohio sex offender reporting obligation paused while he was living and registering as a sex offender in Kentucky and then resumed when he moved back to Ohio in 2020.…
Read MoreACSOL Conference Discount Expires August 31
The “early bird” discount for ACSOL’s annual conference will expire on August 31. In order to take advantage of that discount, you must sign up before or on that date. It’s easy to sign up for the conference using the link below. Sign up now The discounted price for the two-day conference is $50, which includes lunch on both days. The conference price starting September 1 will increase to $75. This year’s in-person conference will be held at Southwestern Law School in downtown Los Angeles starting on Saturday, October 14,…
Read MoreOH: From ankle strap to wristband: Warren County pilots ‘smartwatch’ electronic monitoring devices
Source: wcpo.com 8/23/23 LEBANON, Ohio — Warren County’s judicial system is among the first in the country to pilot a new device that encompasses all the functionality of an ankle monitor in the compatibility of a smartwatch device. The technology, called the VeriWatch, is relatively new but that didn’t give Mike Steele pause. Associate director of electronic monitoring for the Warren County Court of Common Pleas adult probation department, Steele said his team has partnered with Business Intelligence Inc. for roughly 15 years. Whenever they launch new technology, like this…
Read MoreThe Artifice Girl: A movie showing how an AI program could bait and trap predators
Source: imdb.com Movie description (fiction): “A team of special agents discovers a revolutionary new computer program to bait and trap online predators. After teaming up with the program’s troubled developer, they soon find that the AI is rapidly advancing beyond its original purpose.” Read the full article Related reality articles: AI Generated Images Are Being Used To Catch Online Sexual Predators [sydneycriminallawyers.com.au 5/27/23] Utah company uses AI to catch online predators [ksl.com 6/20/23] D.I.G. AI system used to find sex traffickers [computer.org] Predicting a predator: Purdue AI tool identifies online…
Read MoreHow the Supreme Court has promoted myths about sex offense registries
Twenty years ago, the justices deemed registration preventive rather than punitive. By Jacob Sullum Mar 1, 2023, 12:30pm CDT This Sunday, March 5, marks the 20th anniversary of Smith v. Doe, a U.S. Supreme Court decision that approved retroactive application of Alaska’s sex offense registry, deeming it preventive rather than punitive. That ruling helped propagate several pernicious myths underlying a policy that every state has adopted without regard to its justice or effectiveness. Writing for the majority in Smith, Justice Anthony Kennedy took it for granted that collecting and disseminating information…
Read MoreSC: Deputies warn of arrest warrant-issued scam targeting residents on sex offender registry
Source: foxcarolina.com 8/25/23 ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – The Anderson County Sheriff’s said deputies are investigating a scam targeting residents on the sex offender registry. Deputies said the scammers are calling victims, telling them they have not appeared in court and there is an active warrant for their arrest because they are violating their sex offender registry. According to deputies, the scammers then text the victims a copy of a fake arrest warrant and tell them to get a gift card to pay a fine to clear up the…
Read MoreUSSC Votes to Allow Retroactive Sentence Reductions and Announces Its Next Set of Policy Priorities
Source: ussc.gov via govdelivery.com 8/24/23 Vote Authorizes Judges to Reduce Sentences for Eligible Incarcerated Persons Beginning February 1, 2024 Should Guidelines Become Effective WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 24, 2023) — Today the Commission, by a majority vote, allowed for delayed retroactive application of Amendment 821 relating to criminal history—meaning that certain currently incarcerated individuals could be eligible for reduced sentences made effective beginning on February 1, 2024 (unofficial text). The Commission also adopted its next set of policy priorities that include, among other things, reviewing and potentially amending how the guidelines treat acquitted…
Read MoreCO: Sex offender registry meant to inform public, not target offenders, officials say
Source: durangoherald.com 8/24/23 ‘When we make them a pariah, we drive them underground,’ says district attorney A Durango man accused of breaking into another man’s house in the middle of the night and attempting to fatally shoot him may have been carrying out an act of vigilantism directed toward a registered sex offender, according to the victim and an arrest affidavit. Several details of the Aug. 9 shooting remain unknown or have not yet been made public by law enforcement. For example, it is unknown if the suspect, Troy Allen…
Read MorePlease Join ACSOL in Placer County Protest on September 1
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) will protest ongoing efforts by Placer County, California, to block the release of a registrant in that county. The protest will be held on September 1 at 7:30 a.m. in front of Placer County Superior Court, 10820 Justice Center Drive, in Roseville, CA. The protest will move inside the court to Department 23, if possible, where the District Attorney has scheduled a meeting of those who support the county’s efforts. “We must take a stand on the important issue of where a…
Read MoreGA: Georgia sheriff pleads guilty to groping TV Judge Hatchett
Source: yahoo.com 8/21/23 A Georgia sheriff pleaded guilty Monday to groping TV Judge Glenda Hatchett, who recalled being so stunned that she froze when the lawman grabbed and squeezed her breast at a hotel bar last year during a law enforcement conference. Bleckley County Sheriff Kristopher Coody pleaded guilty in Cobb County State Court to a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery and was sentenced to a year on probation, news outlets reported. He also resigned from the office he had held since 2017. “He so violated me, and at that…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Where Should They Live?
Officials in Placer County, California, are up in arms and complaining mightily that a 66-year-old registrant who has been designated a Sexually Violent Predator is about to be released in that county. Never mind that he was convicted more than 30 years ago and has completed many years of treatment. Never mind that experts have determined he no longer poses a current risk. Instead of relying upon these facts, Placer County officials and other government representatives are crying “not in my back yard”, otherwise known as NIMBY. And they appear…
Read MoreEarly Bird Discount for ACSOL Conference Expires on August 31
The early bird discount for ACSOL’s conference is about to expire. Those who sign up for the conference during on or before August 31 will pay only $50 to attend the two-day conference. However, the conference price will increase to $75 on September 1. Conference fees include lunch on both days. Scholarships are available upon request. Click here to sign up The conference will be held on Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15, at Southwestern Law School in downtown Los Angeles. The conference will begin on Saturday at 9…
Read MoreCA: Placer County officials push back on transient release of sexually violent predator
Source: kcra.com 8/21/23 Placer County and state leaders on Monday heard from people worried about the release and relocation of 66-year-old William ________, a sexually violent predator (SVP). County leaders spoke after the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and Liberty Health Care held a meeting to talk about possible locations to place ________. He’s the man set to be released as a transient in the county, meaning he’ll live without a permanent address. While this doesn’t mean he gets dropped off at a bus stop, concerned officials are fighting the…
Read MoreACSOL Online Meeting September 16, 2023
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday September 16, online 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 choose to show or hide yourself, or you can use the Zoom phone number to call…
Read MoreUPDATED 8/21/23: Corrections to the Paris, Wisconsin 6,500 Feet Residency Restriction by the 7th Circuit
UPDATED Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 8/21/23 Attorneys with the Paris case (6500-foot residence restriction) have contacted us [Florida Action Committee] to correct misstatements that were made in our most recent post. They let us know there is much to be optimistic about in the court’s decision as they are putting some brakes on municipal ordinances that have spiraled out of control in Wisconsin – something they have never done before. We should not be reading this decision as countenancing 6500-foot zones more generally. Attorney Adele Nicholas will be continuing to fight these…
Read MoreOH: Ohio’s arson registry just turned 10 years old. Is it working?
Source: cantonrep.com 8/17/23 In 2013, Ohio lawmakers passed Section 2909.15 of the Ohio Revised code, creating the statewide arson registry. There are currently 1,377 individuals registered as arson offenders. Fire officials and investigators say the registry is a valuable tool. Other experts argue the database is ineffective and unconstitutional. Shawndra Brown decided to set a car on fire following a domestic dispute. That was in 2013. As part of her sentence, the 35-year-old Columbus resident was required to register once a year, every year, as an arson offender — her…
Read MoreTX: Call to 911 backfires on Pleasant Farms man who tried to murder a registrant
Source: oaoa.com 8/14/23 A Pleasant Farms man who thought deputies were going to come to his house to arrest a man he described as a sex offender was arrested instead. According to an Ector County Sheriff’s Office report, Daniel Renee Sanchez, 37, called 911 Sunday to say he’d detained a sex offender on his property in the 4500 block of West Mulberry Street. When deputies arrived, Sanchez said he’d detained, at gunpoint, a 21-year-old man who had texted inappropriate things to his stepson a week prior, the report stated. Read…
Read More