FL: Accused sex offender released back into community after being found incompetent to stand trial

Source: wftv.com 10/23/23 PINE HILLS, Fla. — A community learned on Monday that an accused repeat sex offender will be released back into their community, again. Channel 9 first reported on 56-year-old Joseph ____ since 2020. ____ has recently been found incompetent to stand trial and is not currently facing time for any of his charges.  In the courtroom, parents of the alleged victims were livid. They did not want him to be released anywhere near their daughters, who he’s accused of attacking in Pine Hills.  Deshawn Browdy spoke in…

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ACSOL Online Meeting November 18, 2023

Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci for our next meeting.  The meeting will be held on Saturday November 18, 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…

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GA: Want to avoid sex offenders in your neighborhood this Halloween? Read this before trick-or-treating

Source: fox5atlanta.com 10/23/23 There are over 24,500 registered sex offenders in the state of Georgia. Only some of them have to follow a special set of rules on Halloween.  Those who are on parole or probation must: Turn off all outside lights Not decorate their home for the holiday, or pass out candy Not answer the door, unless it’s for a law enforcement officer or an emergency responder In the past, the Atlanta Police Department has sent parole officers to visit the homes of sex offenders throughout the night to…

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Philippines: American sex offenders denied entry into Philippines at NAIA

Source: palawan-news.com 10/22/23 Two convicted American sex offenders were denied entry into the Philippines by the immigration bureau at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) this week. They were identified by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) as Eric Blair ___, 57, who arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 on October 19, aboard a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight from Los Angeles, California, and Marlon ___, 57, who arrived on a PAL flight from Honolulu on October 20. BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said on Saturday that Smith is a registered sex offender (RSO) in…

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MO: Briefs Filed Regarding Request to Stop Missouri’s Halloween Sign Mandate

Source: ACSOL Briefs have been filed by both parties, in support of and in opposition to, a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO).  If the motion is granted, registrants in Missouri would not be required to post signs on the front door of their homes on Halloween. Plaintiff’s reply brief was filed today as required by the court.  That brief focuses on the fact that the sign mandate violates the First Amendment because it is compelled speech, required by the government and objected to by the registrant.  The brief…

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CA: Trial Date Set for Case Involving Attempted Offenses

Source: ACSOL A trial date has been set in a pending case that challenges the tiering of individuals convicted of an attempted offense.  The date for the bench trial (no jury) is March 25, 2024.  The trial will be held in Los Angeles Superior Court, Department 76, starting at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to last no longer than one day.   The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) is currently assigning individuals convicted of an attempted offense to the same tier as individuals completed of a completed offense.  As a…

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FL: Residents want ‘clustered’ sex offenders out of Tampa neighborhood

Source: fox13news.com 10/20/23 TAMPA, Fla. – After more than two years of delays, Tampa city council members on Thursday finally received a report on the housing of sexual predators who are currently ‘clustered’ in the V.M. Ybor neighborhood.  … “Commencing in 2009-2010, multiple properties on Nebraska Avenue underwent rapid transformations, becoming high-density hubs for newly released sex offenders, predators, and felons. This resulted in a concerning surge in V.M. Ybor’s sex offender and predator population. Despite initial opposition, the situation persists, prompting the need for critical intervention. One glaring issue is the Department of Corrections’ ongoing…

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GA: Do These Sex Offender Employment Restrictions Make Sense to Anyone?

Source: filtermag.org 10/19/23 In the month since I was released from Georgia Department of Corrections custody, I’ve been offered four different jobs. I could have been an account lead at a prominent insurance agency; a receptionist at the same agency, different location; an accountant at another insurance agency; and a paralegal assistant at a law firm. I submitted each offer to my local sheriff’s department, where each was promptly rejected. It appears there are only two available positions in the entire county I’d be allowed to work, one of them…

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CASOMB Expands Recommendations for Tier Reductions

The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) today approved tier reductions for those convicted of three offenses — Penal Code Sections 288.2, 288.3 and 288.4 — who are currently assigned to Tier 3 which requires lifetime registration.  All three offenses involve either the sharing of harmful material with a minor of arranging a meeting with a minor. “This is a remarkable and positive recommendation for CASOMB to make,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “The board based its decision upon the reason for one of their previous decisions, that is,…

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Sex Offender Registry Requirements Across the United States

Source: Probation Information probationinfo.org Can a registered sex offender go on vacation? Does a sex offender have to register if they visit a different state? It depends on the state, and how long the registrant will be there. Some jurisdictions require registrants to notify authorities immediately, while others allow limited stays without requiring registration. Registrants currently under supervision usually need permission from their Parole or Probation Officer before traveling and should always consult their supervising officer. This comparison chart is intended to be a quick reference guide to compare the…

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An 18-Year-Old Had Consensual Sex With a 16-Year-Old. He Went to Jail for 6 Years

Source: yahoo.com 10/18/23 When Henry was 18, he had sex with a 16-year-old he met on a dating app who said they were 18 too. The 16-year-old’s parents found out, summoned the cops, and Henry was charged with a sex offense. He took a plea: no jail time, and seven years on the sex offense registry. Henry’s story is one of about 60 that appear in a new book by sociologist Emily Horowitz: From Rage to Reason: Why We Need Sex Crime Laws Based on Facts Not Fear. If you…

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CA: Still many unknowns surrounding placement of sexually violent predator William Stephenson

Source: kcra.com 10/17/23 Placer County hosted a housing committee meeting Tuesday to inform the community about the release of William Stephenson, a man classified as a sexually violent predator. The Department of State Hospitals, along with Liberty Healthcare, which has been contracted out by the state to facilitate placement services, hosted the meeting which was attended by the public at the Placer County Community Development Agency building, and virtually, for people who couldn’t attend in person. According to the Placer County District Attorney, the Superior Court judge overseeing the case…

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AR: Arkansas Parole Board Denies Release to Sex Offender For Failure to Find Appropriate Housing

Source: prisonlegalnews.org 9/15/23 On February 2, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas dismissed a state prisoner’s habeas corpus petition challenging denial of his parole because he did not have approved sex offender housing. While bad news for him, the decision is instructive for any prisoner facing housing restrictions when paroled or on probation. Charles Isaac Wilson, Jr., is serving a 40-year sentence for a 2010 conviction for delivery of cocaine. In November 2021, the state Parole Board recommended he be transferred from the state Department…

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UK: Teacher sacked and arrested after girls made up sex claims ‘for fun’ gets payout

Source: msn.com 10/17/23 A male teacher at an all-girls grammar school has been awarded £45,000 after he was sacked over sex assault claims pupils later said had been made up ‘for fun’.  Jonathan Hawker, who taught maths and computing, lost his job at Devonport High School for Girls after pupils said he assaulted them by touching their thighs and massaging their shoulders.  He endured the ‘brutal experience’ of being arrested at his home before being dismissed from the Plymouth school for gross misconduct.  His appeal against the sacking was then…

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A Place to Be Free

Source: inquest.org 10/12/23 Life in prison is hard. Coming back home shouldn’t be harder. More than 600,000 people are released from prison every year, which means that many people will be transitioning home from a place where trauma, stress, and other hardships are commonplace. Reentry, as this transitional period is called, comes with huge barriers to housing, employment, and our well-being. We know this because we’ve experienced these hardships ourselves—include the anxiety of knowing that any misstep during this period could have landed us back in prison. Of the more…

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NY: Opinion: The case for fixing probation and parole

Source: cityandstateny.com 9/22/23 On Sept. 17, 2021, when I was running the notorious Rikers Island jails, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Less Is More act into law, reducing parole revocations for non-criminal, technical violations.  When she did so, she applied the act retroactively to all people incarcerated for 30 days or more for parole violations like drug use, missed appointments and curfew violations. Unfortunately, Isaabdul Karim had only been incarcerated for 29 days, missing his release opportunity by a single day. Two days later, Mr. Karim died of COVID-19 in…

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