Source: Florida Action Committee 9/9/25 A case with major implications for the constitutional rights of those on the registry is now headed to the Florida Supreme Court. Attorneys for Michael Crist have filed a notice seeking review of an appellate decision that upheld Florida’s requirement that people classified as “sexual predators” have that exact phrase printed in bold letters on their driver’s licenses. Crist, who was accused in 2019 of trying to cover the label with a sticker, argued that the mandate violates the First Amendment by forcing individuals to…
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CA: Bay Area sex offender with cancer denied mercy release
Source: mercurynews.com 9/9/25 A state inmate convicted of child molestation in Marin County in 1989 has been denied early medical release because of terminal cancer. Victor Wayne Cooper, 69, lived in Novato when the crimes occurred. He allegedly molested a 6-year-old Novato girl, the daughter of an acquaintance, over a five-month period. Cooper was convicted of four counts of lewd acts against the girl. A judge sentenced him to 60 years to life in prison. Cooper had two prior rape convictions. Last year, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation…
Read MoreAL: Alabama defends law limiting where sex offenders can go
Source: courthousenews.com 8/1/25 An Alabama law restricting sex offenders’ movements is under legal scrutiny after a federal appeals court hearing Friday that could reshape how the state regulates their interactions with minors. The case centers on a provision of the Alabama Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act that restricts where registrants can be present, potentially criminalizing routine activities like work, attending church or family gatherings. Amended in 2017, plaintiffs claim the provision redefined “reside” and “overnight visit,” imposing sweeping restrictions that could transform routine activities into criminal acts. Three…
Read MoreAutomated Sextortion Spyware Takes Webcam Pics of Victims Watching Porn
Source: wired.com 9/3/25 A new specimen of “infostealer” malware offers a disturbing feature: It monitors a target’s browser for NSFW content, then takes simultaneous screenshots and webcam photos of the victim. Sextortion-based hacking, which hijacks a victim’s webcam or blackmails them with nudes they’re tricked or coerced into sharing, has long represented one of the most disturbing forms of cybercrime. Now one specimen of widely available spyware has turned that relatively manual crime into an automated feature, detecting when the user is browsing pornography on their PC, screenshotting it, and taking…
Read MoreAustralia: Even in Death, the Punishment Continues: The Registry That Doesn’t Let Go
Source: www.canberratimes.com.au 9/4/25 A sexual assault victim has mounted a campaign to stop voluntary assisted dying in prison, feeling “robbed” her perpetrator died on his terms. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was permitted to die voluntarily because of a terminal cancer diagnosis, becoming the first prisoner in NSW to access the system. He was seven years into a 30-year prison term with a non-parole period of 20 years for a string of sex crimes. A victim – the man’s daughter – revealed the pain the…
Read MoreUK: A scheme helped prevent sex offenders committing more crimes – then it closed. Why?
Source: bbc.com 9/3/25 It took me some time to find the front door of the Safer Living Foundation. There was no nameplate, and the building was one of many anonymous red-brick Victorian terraced houses in Nottingham. It was January 2025, and I was wrapped up against the cold as I walked up and down the street trying to find the right address. There was a very good reason for this anonymity. The foundation works with people convicted and imprisoned for sexual offences after they have been released back into the…
Read MorePredators trailer explores To Catch A Predator’s complicated legacy
Source: yahoo.com 8/19/25 On the surface, To Catch A Predator may seem like it was a moral net-positive. The Dateline series helped apprehend multiple criminals before they could target more children. That, at least on paper, sounds like a good thing. Predators, a new documentary delving into the repercussions of the popular show, however, argues that its legacy is a lot more complicated than that. “A cultural sensation from its inception in the early 2000s, Dateline NBC’s candid-camera investigative series To Catch A Predator ensnared sex offenders and lured them to a film set, where…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: CA Assembly Appropriations Committee Strikes Again
The CA Assembly Appropriations Committee made a surprising decision last week when they reversed their position on a bill (Senate Bill 680) that will require a new category of people to register. The category will include everyone convicted of Penal Code Section 261.5, unlawful intercourse, on or after January 1, 2026. This is the same committee that attempted to stop the Tiered Registry Law in 2017. And it happened on the same day of the year, the Friday before Labor Day. What appears to be different this year is that…
Read MoreNY: Proceed Cautiously With Changes To Sex Offender Classification System
Source: post-journal.com 9/2/25 No one knows if an effort to update the way New York decides how likely a sex offender is to reoffend will move in the state Legislature this year after more than a decade of inaction. Part of the bill is intriguing. Sen. Liz Krueger, D-New York City, and Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter, D-Syracuse, say the form most commonly used to assess a convicted sex offender’s danger to the community upon release is the Static 99/R, which aggregates criminal history as well as demographic characteristics to assign a…
Read MoreTX: Law expanding sex offender registry goes into effect in Texas
Source: kcentv.com 9/1/25 House Bill 1465, championed by survivor Cailey Rush, is now law. It requires those convicted of invasive visual recording to register as sex offenders. Watch the video
Read MoreIN: Judge finds AI child pornography defendant not guilty due to uncertain law
Source: cbs4indy.com 8/31/25 Marion Superior Judge James Osborn was clearly challenged when it came to hearing a case this month consisting of ten counts of child exploitation and child pornography against a former employee of the Marion County Forensic Services Agency. Watch the video Read the article
Read MoreDigital punishment, lateral surveillance & the sex offense registry
Source: journals.sagepub.com 8/25/25 Abstract The maintenance of a public sex offense registry has been codified as a non-punitive civil policy since the 2003 Supreme Court case of Smith v. Doe. But since then, sex offense registries have transformed from a centralized state repository of information to a sprawling digital archive of personal data about people required to register. We identify and report the current technological capabilities of state-run sex offense registries through a 50-state survey and draw from the analysis to argue that the digital turn has changed the form…
Read MoreCO: Thornton sex offender map draws criticism from residents
Source: northglenn-thorntonsentinel.com 8/28/25 A proposed ordinance that draws lines between sexually violent offenders and children may actually put kids in harm’s way, a Thornton resident said. The worry isn’t over the wording of the ordinance, which is like other city ordinances that mandate the distance convicted sex offenders must maintain in areas where children congregate. The problem is that the draft ordinance requires the city to publish and maintain a citywide, live map of school bus stops, said resident Steven Mathias. Mathias – who told the city council during its August…
Read MoreTX: Texas believes failure to register can equate to 25-year murder sentence
Source: ntxe-news.com 8/29/25 Fannin County, Texas — On August 27, 2025, Fannin County First Assistant Criminal District Attorney, Nathan Young, secured a 25-year prison sentence for the offense of Failure to Register as Sex Offender in the case of Carl Alton ____, Jr., 56, of Bonham. … “In 2015 this defendant went to prison for six years for a failure to register as a sex offender,” said First Assistant Nathan Young. “He knew what was expected of his registration when he was released. His blatant disregard in complying with a…
Read MoreCalling Man with Sex Offense Conviction for Having Sex (When 27) with 15-Year-Old-Girl “Pedo” Is Substantially True
Source: reason.com 8/27/25 From Baird v. Reyes, decided yesterday by Judge Andrea Wood (N.D. Ill.): Baird’s three-page handwritten complaint … alleges that, on February 14, 2024, Reyes posted on his Facebook page an image of Baird with the text: “If anyone sees this fucking pedo with my kid and baby momma, let me know immediately.” … Here, the Court finds that the facts surrounding his conviction reveal that Baird, as an adult, had a sexual relationship with a minor, and such conduct is commonly associated with the term pedophile. As Baird…
Read MoreAustralia: Queensland is creating a public child sex offender register. Will it keep people safer?
Source: theconversation.com 8/26/25 Queensland is creating a public child sex offender register. Will it keep people safer? The Queensland government will this week table legislation creating Australia’s first public child sex offender register. The Queensland legislation, to be known as Daniel’s Law, was named in honour of Sunshine Coast teenager Daniel Morcombe, who was abducted and murdered by a sex offender more than two decades ago. But will this new legislation actually work to make children (and the public) safer? Will it act as a deterrent for those contemplating offending or…
Read MoreDallas Congresswoman Looks to Federally Criminalize Certain Protests
Source: dallasobserver.com 8/25/25 Beth Van Duyne’s bill is seen as an infringement upon First Amendment rights. Some states are already making similar steps. Beth Van Duyne wants to use federal racketeering laws to seize the assets of people and groups that organize or fund protests that turn violent. But a bill the Republican representative for parts of Dallas, Irving and Richardson introduced in Congress to make that possible could infringe on the right of free speech. It is also unlikely to become law and, even if enacted, won’t deter local activists.…
Read MoreWhat Happens After A Child Pornography Conviction In Federal Court?
Source: newsbreak.com 8/25/25 The are a staggering number of people in prison in Washington State for sex crimes. Just over 3,300 inmates, or roughly 24% of the entire prison system population, were convicted of some type of sex crime. The federal prison system doesn’t break data down the same way, so the total number of inmates that committed sex crimes in the only federal prison Washington State is unknown. That said, we do know of one person heading to federal prison for a disgusting crime that falls under that category. Pete Serrano,…
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