WI: Wisconsin slow to take GPS bracelets off ex-cons, despite ruling

Source: captimes.com 11/7/23 The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has been slow to release hundreds of people from GPS monitors it forced them to wear for life — long after they completed their sentences for sex offenses — in the five months since a state Supreme Court ruling challenged the practice. That’s according to multiple sources including former offenders, who told the Cap Times the Department of Corrections is not following the spirit of the Supreme Court decision or its own statements after the ruling in May. The Department of Corrections…

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LA: The Case of the Do-Nothing Judge: Suppose a judge decides not to decide. For five years.

Source: themarshallproject.org 2/15/2016 For the past 45 years Wilbert Jones has sworn to anyone who would hear him that he did not kidnap and rape a woman in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1971, crimes for which he is serving a life sentence. But only in the past five years or so have his attorneys and investigators been able to find compelling evidence that might support his claim of innocence. And it has been more than five years, from July 29, 2011 until today, that a Louisiana “commissioner,” acting as a…

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UK: Government to toughen sentences for sexual crimes in King’s Speech

Source: bbc.com 11/6/23 Offenders who commit murders with sexual or sadistic motives will spend the rest of their lives in prison, under government proposals. The plan will be in the King’s Speech, where King Charles reads out the government’s plan for the year ahead at the State Opening of Parliament. It will also include measures to force criminals to appear in the dock, and a law to prevent prisoners from marrying. This will be King Charles’s first time delivering the speech as monarch. It will also be Rishi Sunak’s first…

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MT: Montana Supreme Court: ‘Retroactive’ punishment for sexual, violent offenders is unconstitutional

Source: dailymontanan.com 11/5/23 Randall Menges has technically been a free man since 2015 – that’s when he completed his sentence in Idaho. That seven-year sentence in Idaho was for violating a ban on homosexual sex, even though court records show it was a consensual act between two minors. Even though homosexual sex has since been decriminalized, Menges wanted to put the incident in the past since it happened 30 years ago. However, when he moved to Montana and restarted his life, the state continued to insist that he register as…

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GA: Police no help in removing squatters, sex offender allowed to stay

Source: FOX 5 Atlanta  on YouTube TUCKER, Ga. – Much has been made over the years of squatters’ rights. “Squatting” is when someone lives in a home, likely rent-free, and has to be kicked out by the courts. Well, here’s a case with a street-side view into one of the most bizarre cases of trying to evict someone you may ever see. This story involves a legitimate homeowner, a home for sale, and a convicted child sex trafficker. Guess who has the upper hand? It’s the kind of tale that…

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FL: Man accuses Polk deputy of making false child-porn arrest after asking to call lawyer

Source: clickorlando.com  10/31/23 POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd faces a lawsuit after a man was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography in 2020, according to court records filed on Tuesday. The lawsuit says that the sheriff’s office had started an investigation dubbed “Operation Guardians of Innocence V” back in October 2019, during which detectives searched for suspects in possession of child pornography. After months of investigation, deputies said that Edgardo Cancela — who lived in Davenport with his wife and two children — had been…

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MO: Federal Judge Sets Trial Date for Halloween Sign Case in Missouri

Source: ACSOL A federal judge today set March 27, 2024, as the trial date for the Halloween sign case in Missouri.  The trial will be conducted before the judge only, with no jury, in Halloween case – U.S. District Court, Eastern District, in St. Louis – Court Order – Trial Setting etc.  The trial will be open to the public. During the trial, the court will consider both whether the Halloween sign requirement violates the First Amendment and whether to issue the existing statewide temporary restraining order (TRO) on a…

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MO: Multiple people arrested in Mid-Missouri, accused of breaking Halloween sex offender rules

Source: abc17news.com 11/1/23 Multiple people were arrested in Mid-Missouri on Tuesday on suspicion of not complying with sex-offender Halloween restrictions.   In Chariton County, Timothy _____, 42, of Salisbury, was arrested on suspicion of several charges. He was charged with failure to register as a sex offender, drug possession, two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, resisting arrest, and misdemeanors including failure to comply with Halloween-related restrictions for sex offenders and two counts of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He is being held at the Randolph County…

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TN: A registrant who is HIV positive is considered a sexually violent predator

Source: filtermag.org 11/2/23 In the mid-’90s at Washington State Penitentiary, a corrections officer (CO) and I had been yelling at each other for a while until eventually he ordered me back to my cell. When he called me back out to go see the sergeant, the CO in the security booth at the end of the hall buzzed open the electronic sliding door, then shut it in my face each time I tried to go through. After the third time, I turned to the glass he was sitting behind and…

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MN: MSOP Moose Lake: Behind Barbed Wire – A look into the controversial Minnesota Sex Offender Program treatment program

Source: northernnewsnow.com 10/31/23 MOOSE LAKE, MN. (Northern News Now) – Recent violent assaults on staff inside the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake in the past year is sparking another look into the controversial treatment program. Northern News Now Anchor Laura Lee investigates the claims made by some clients inside MSOP who say they are being given life sentences for crimes they have already served. The desperation of some of the clients is reaching a boiling point as some say they are so desperate to get out, they are…

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WI: Investigation into alleged circulation of child porn among students

Source: TMJ4 News A search warrant says a Nicolet High School student told a school resource officer two weeks ago that, “A video depicting two other Nicolet students engaging in sexual acts had been posted online.” GLENDALE, Wis. — Glendale police are investigating alleged child pornography being circulated among students at Nicolet High School. A search warrant says a Nicolet High School student told a school resource officer two weeks ago that, “A video depicting two other Nicolet students engaging in sexual acts had been posted online via Instagram.” Court…

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UT: Newly created sex offense management board looking into issues with Utah’s registry

Source: ksltv.com 11/2/23 SALT LAKE CITY — What might have looked like any other public meeting at the Utah Capitol Wednesday was actually a new step forward for the state, according to Dr. Michele Leslie. “We’re one of the few states who have some kind of management board,” she said. “And it is a really big step for this state.” Wednesday’s meeting was the second public meeting of Utah’s newly created Sex Offense Management Board. The Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice hired Leslie, a doctor of psychology with…

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WA: Convicted Sex Offender Now a Licensed Attorney in Washington State

Source: prisonlegalnews.org 10/15/23 A divided Washington Supreme Court beat back prejudice with a November 2022 decision admitting a convicted sex offender to the state bar. Zachary LeRoy Stevens was charged as a teenager with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for sending child pornography to a detective posing as a 14-year-old online. He pleaded guilty to reduced charges of voyeurism in 2012, serving less than a year in jail and on home detention. He was also required to register as a sex offender. Stevens had previously been convicted…

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LA: Some good Halloween news from Louisiana

Source: NARSOL 10/31/23 NARSOL is pleased to report that our efforts to end the practice of “No-candy” Halloween warning signs have borne fruit in Louisiana. This outcome is a direct result of the precedential case in Georgia NARSOL sponsored, McClendon v. Long. A week before Halloween, 2023, NARSOL made the determination that three specific parishes in Louisiana were requiring everyone on the sex offender registry within their jurisdictions to post “No candy at this residence” signs on their house; in their yard; or, in one of the three, on the…

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CA: Riverside “cracking down” on registrants; “not supposed to be handing out candy on Halloween”

Source: ktla.com 10/31/23 In an effort to protect children, actively monitoring registered sex offenders is what a certain group of dogs are specially trained for. These aren’t just regular dogs. These K9s — named Chewie and Solo — are professionally trained to catch predators as part of their full-time job with the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team. Chewie and Solo are electronic scent detection dogs that can sniff out a variety of devices and tech that may hold potential evidence police may need. They work as part of a task…

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MA: Hampden County Probation visits sex offenders on Halloween to ensure their lights are off

Source: masslive.com  10/31/23 SPRINGFIELD — Children dressed as superheroes, a ghost and one with an inflatable bat costume were running down the sidewalk trick-or-treating but when they hit Merimac Street they found one home dark and unwelcoming. While the children may have been disappointed to have to skip the house, a team of officers from the Hampden County Probation Department were happy to see it looking forbidding since at least two men who live there are registered sex offenders. When John Sandillo pounded on the door unannounced, they could hear…

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