American Institute of Criminal Attorney PRESS RELEASE Chance X. Oberstein Has Been Nominated and Accepted as a Two Years AIOCLA’S 10 Best in California For Client Satisfaction The American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys has recognized the exceptional performance of California’s Criminal Law Attorney Chance X. Oberstein as Two Years 10 Best Criminal Law Attorneys for Client Satisfaction. The American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys is a third-party attorney rating organization that publishes an annual list of the Top 10 Criminal Law attorneys in each state. Attorneys who are…
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Churches Under Fire for Allowing Sex Offenders to Attend Services
[pjmedia.com – 3/7/19] Several churches within the Churches of Christ denomination have come under fire for allowing sex offenders to attend services. Critics accuse those churches of failing to care for the victims. Defenders claim that those who are truly repentant should not be turned away. Most likely, this is a debate that is going to find its way into all denominations because the problem of sexual abuse is baring its ugly soul across denominational lines. The sexual abuse of minors is especially heinous. There is something about the betrayal…
Read MoreSouthern Baptist Convention: What’s wrong with the proposed sexual abuse amendment to the SBC constitution
[baptistnews.com – 3/8/19] The Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee has proposed an amendment to the SBC constitution that would allow for churches to be disfellowshipped when they are determined to have “evidenced indifference in addressing sexual abuse.” Sounds good, right? But take a closer look. The amendment sets forth four examples of conduct the committee can consider as evidence of church indifference: (a) employing a convicted sex offender, (b) allowing a convicted sex offender to work as a volunteer in contact with minors, (c) continuing to employ a person who…
Read MoreWA: House Passes Responsible Teen Communications Act
[seattlemedium.com – 3/6/19] OLYMPIA – On Monday, the Washington State House of Representatives passed House Bill 1742 on a bipartisan vote of 57-39. The Responsible Teen Communications Act, sponsored by Rep. Noel Frame (D-Seattle), updates Washington’s laws to reflect current technology, and ensure minors sharing sexually explicit images or videos of themselves with their peers (commonly known was “sexting”) are not automatically charged with a felony sex offense and forced to register as a sex offender. According to a recent study, more than one in four teenagers report having received…
Read MoreGA: Georgia Court blocks lifelong GPS tracking of sex offenders
[thebrunswicknews.com – 3/4/19] Georgia’s highest court says it’s unconstitutional to require “sexually dangerous predators” to remain on electronic GPS monitoring after completing their sentences. The unanimous Georgia Supreme Court opinion published Monday says that violates the Fourth Amendment protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Read more
Read MoreAction Alerts: CA Legislative Committees to Review Important Bills [UPDATED 4/2]
Committees within the California legislature have begun the process of scheduling consideration of bills of importance to registrants and their loved ones. Click on the bills to see what you can do: SB 145: Click here to learn how to SUPPORT SB 145 AB 884: Click here to learn how to OPPOSE AB 884
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Make a Difference
Like many of you, before I knew someone on the registry or became involved in advocacy, I never gave much thought to how our justice system worked. I knew very little about how or why state bills were proposed and even less about who was responsible for getting them pushed through to a vote. I naively assumed my state representatives were looking out for my best interests and those of my family, friends and neighbors when proposing and voting on key issues. Boy, was I wrong. Now that I’ve got…
Read MoreCA: Lackey Bill Would Put Child Support Evaders on Blast
[eastcountytoday.net – 2/27/19] A bill introduced last week by Assemblyman Tom Lackey would call for the State of California to create a website which would list parents who owe more than $5,000 in child support. According to Assembly Bill 1498, it would showcase delinquent parents who have not been making court-ordered child support payments. The website would publicly display: Obligor’s name photograph amount of child support owed. Read more about this proposed registry
Read MoreOK: Police Investigating After Registered Sex Offender Killed In Pottawatomie County
[news9.com – 2/26/19] POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Oklahoma – The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal shooting near Macomb. A gunshot victim, 60-year-old Harry L. Venosdel Jr., was found around 5 p.m. Sunday, February 24, at his home located off White Oaks Lane. Venosdel Jr. was discovered by others who live on the same plot of land. 911 Caller: “I just got home and found him dead laying out in front of his trailer.” 911 Caller: “He’s lying there, his eyes are kind of hazy, stiff, and cold…” Before detectives…
Read MoreAR: 6 new Arkansas sex offense bills including Halloween, grooming, positions of public trust, recording minors
[state.ar.us – 2/26/19] Click on each of these bills to read the details: SB 10: Prohibiting a registered sex offender from participating in certain Halloween-related activities. HB 1279: To amend the offense of sexually grooming a child. SB 183: To prohibit certain registered sex offenders from holding a position of public trust. SB 8: To prohibit a registered sex offender from recording a person under fourteen (14) years of age in certain circumstances; and to prohibit the unlawful use of a recording of a person under fourteen (14) years…
Read MoreME: Law would ban sex offenders from some multi-unit buildings, houses in Maine
[wmtw.com – 2/25/19] UGUSTA, Maine — A proposal at the Maine State House would add living restrictions to Maine’s sex offender law. The bill would ban a convicted sex offender from living in a multiunit building that shares an entrance with a unit occupied by a minor. Specifically, a sex offender who committed a crime against someone under the age of 14 would be banned from living in a multiunit building with a shared entrance with a person under 18. Maine law requires a sex offender who committed an offense…
Read MoreFL: Powerful lobbyist Ron Book arrested on DUI charges
[tallahassee.com – 2/25/19] Ron Book, one of Florida’s most influential lobbyists who also represents the city of Tallahassee, has been arrested on DUI-related charges in Broward County, several South Florida news outlets have reported. Book, 66, was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol Sunday after crashing his Lamborghini near his house, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He was charged with a first-time DUI, refusing to submit to a DUI test and DUI with damage to a person or property, the paper reported. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Book was released…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: A Few Words on Suicide
Back in 2017 I wrote a piece on the Women Against Registry website titled “No More Suicides, Please!” So, I was surprised when almost 2 years later, someone commented on that blog piece, someone who after 25 years on the registry still felt that he “wishes he would have ate a bullet long ago.” He had lost his family, his job, his home, his dignity, everything. It’s heartbreaking to imagine someone spending a quarter of their life wishing that he had “just ended it years ago”, all because of the…
Read MoreU.S. Marshalls: Citizens can provide leads and tips on non-compliant registrants
[usmarshals.gov] The frightening aspect involves reporting of non-compliant sex offenders. There are so many things wrong with this. First it perpetuates the myth that former sex offenders represent a heightened danger. Also, people are free to report what they, as untrained private citizens, consider to be non-compliance. Any unsubstantiated report of a technical violation of registration requirements will cause considerable discomfort to a registered citizen. If that person happens to still be under supervision, the report will quite likely result in at least temporary jail time, until an investigation is…
Read MoreAR: Senate votes 27-1 for sex-offender bill
[arkansasonline.com – 2/22/19] The Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would allow people convicted of sex offenses not to register with the state if their victim was under age 18 and the offender was no more than three years older, under certain conditions. Read more
Read MoreNY: Statement on Landmark Appellate Decision Limiting the Reach of SORA Residency Restrictions
[legalaidnyc.org – 2/21/19] The Legal Aid Society applauded a ruling rendered today by the New York State Appellate Division – Third Department, rejecting the New York State Department of Correction and Community Supervision’s (DOCCS) interpretation of the statutory residency restrictions faced by individuals with prior sex offense convictions. Specifically, the court held that people whose sex offense sentences had already expired were not subject to the law’s harsh mandatory residency restrictions when they were released to parole following a subsequent non-sex offense conviction. The ruling represents the first such limitation…
Read MoreFL: Florida detective kills self after he’s accused of owning child porn
[orlandosentinel.com – 2/21/19] JACKSONVILLE — Authorities say a decorated Florida police detective killed himself just before he was to be arrested on charges that he possessed child pornography. The Florida Times-Union reports that Jacksonville sheriff’s Detective Vernon Richardson killed himself Tuesday, shortly after detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest. The neighboring St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation in December after receiving a tip he had child porn on his computer. Detectives found an image of two adolescent boys having sex. Read more
Read MoreCA: Has criminal justice reform gone too far? One California lawmaker thinks so
[abc10.com – 2/21/19] SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Overcrowded prisons. Trying teens as juveniles versus adults. The power of rehabilitation and a belief in second chances. These issues have fueled criminal justice reform in recent years in the state of California. But some say the overhaul has gone too far. People can generally agree, we all want to live in safe communities, but as Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) told ABC10, the devil is in the details. Exactly how to keep communities safe differs depending on who you ask. Enter Proposition 57,…
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