[news.com.au – 4/3/19] Australians will soon have access to a wealth of information about convicted paedophiles across the country after the Federal Budget allocated $7.8 million for a “name and shame” list. The Budget 2019-2020 provides $7.8 million to establish a National Public Register of Child Sex Offenders, an initiative the government hopes will provide a “nationally consistent approach to the public release of information about child sex offenders”. The register will allow Australians to see names, aliases and photographs of thousands of paedophiles, as well as their date…
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IL: Federal Judge Finds Illinois Rules On Sex Offenders Unconstitutional
[wbez.org – 4/1/19] A federal judge in Chicago has found the Illinois Department of Corrections is violating the constitutional rights of prisoners convicted of certain sex crimes by making the restrictions on where they can live so stringent that inmates are often locked up long beyond their sentences. In a ruling issued Sunday, Judge Virginia Kendall wrote that hundreds of offenders in the state’s prison system successfully complete their entire court-ordered sentences yet remain behind bars indefinitely. Kendall found the corrections department is depriving them of fundamental rights, and…
Read MoreCA: Judge Allows San Diego Sex Offender Lawsuit To Proceed
[kpbs.org – 4/1/19] San Diego City Council members are under more pressure to repeal an unenforceable law restricting where sex offenders can live in the city, after a federal judge allowed a lawsuit challenging the ordinance to proceed. Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz ruled in January against the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was filed in 2017 by a group of unnamed sex offenders. The lawsuit rests heavily on a 2015 decision by the California Supreme Court finding blanket restrictions on where all sex offenders can live increase the…
Read MoreCT: Lawmakers Debate Changes in Sex Offender Registry
[courant.com – 4/1/19] State legislators are debating whether they should make changes in the state’s sex offender registry, which was established in 1998. Former Republican state legislator Bob Farr of West Hartford and other advocates called Monday for approving the recommendations of the state’s sentencing commission on changes to the registry, which is currently “based on the offense and not on the risk of re-offending.” The current registry now lists convicted criminals for 10 years, 20 years or life. The registry started with 800 criminals who were placed retroactively…
Read MoreWI: Fairchild residents up in arms over sex offender housing plan
[leadertelegram.com – 3/26/19] Fairchild residents came out in force Tuesday to share their objections to a plan to potentially house released sexual predators in the community. Nearly 40 Fairchild area residents packed into a small meeting room Tuesday morning at the Eau Claire County Courthouse to express their outrage at the possibility of housing sex offenders on supervised release at a facility on county-owned land about 1¼ miles northwest of Fairchild. Their comments came during a meeting of Eau Claire County’s Supervised Release Committee, which is tasked with identifying a…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: We are More Than a Mugshot
Last week’s Miami Herald article bothered me. You know the one, “Karma caught up with these sex offenders and predators, Florida cops say”. It was called Operation Karma, the totally unnecessary round-up of registrants, in this case, 26 of them, whose only “crime” was neglecting to follow through with some tiresome registration requirement, listing a new home address, registering a motor vehicle, a media account, updating employment information, etc. I suppose this “operation” served two purposes, it gave the police of Polk County, Fl. something to do that particular day…
Read MoreMaldives: FPA establishes regulation for sex offender database
[raajje.mv – 3/29/19] The state’s Family Protection Agency (FPA) has on Thursday established a regulation for the database of sexual offenders in the Maldives. The Special Provisions Act to Deal with Child Sex Abuse Offenders, passed in 2009, makes it mandatory to establish a register for sexual offenders. Read more
Read MoreAZ: Sex offenders get chance to end life-long registration under House proposal
[azcapitoltimes.com – 3/29/19] State lawmakers are weighing whether to give judges more leeway to eliminate the requirement that certain people register for life as sex offenders. A measure approved Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee would allow people convicted of certain sex crimes, when they turn 35, to petition to be absolved of the mandate. Not everyone would be eligible. The legislation pushed by House Speaker Rusty Bowers would apply only in situations where the offender was younger than 22 at the time and the victim was at least 15…
Read MoreOR: Portland city leader wants landlords to forgive bad credit and crimes
[komonews.com – 3/28/19] Hoping to get more people into homes, Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly is proposing that landlords look past a prospective renter’s ding in their credit or even their criminal past. … But when she realized the new rules might let a burglar, or an arsonist, or even a sex offender move in next door, she admitted she had to rethink the proposal. Read more
Read MoreMalaysia: Child sex offender registry to begin operations from April 1
[freemalaysiatoday.com – 3/26/19] PUTRAJAYA: The child sex offenders registry will be made available from April 1 to help the public monitor sexual offenders. Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh said with the child registry in place, the ministry and the Welfare Department hope to protect children from repeat offenders. “Parents, school managements, childcare centres and even religious organisations can now use this registry to check on sex offenders. “As long as it involves working with children, they are encouraged to use the registry,” Yeoh said after launching…
Read MoreCA: Newsom seeks to halt parole for some murderers and serious offenders. What does that signal?
[latimes.com – 3/26/19] ____ liked to suck on the toes of young boys and has spent the last 16 years in prison because of it. A jury convicted him in 2003 at age 32 in a case that shook Newport Beach, where he was a supervisor in the city’s youth recreation program. He was tried on multiple counts of child molestation and sentenced to two concurrent life terms after being caught in the act by a co-worker. Last week — despite an attempt by Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop it…
Read MoreCT: Town repeals sex offender restrictions amid lawsuit
[apnews.com – 3/24/19] WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (AP) — Residents of a Connecticut town have repealed a local ordinance that banned registered sex offenders from local parks, schools, the town library and other public places amid a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. The Windsor Locks law was approved 11 years ago amid concerns about threats to children’s safety by people listed on the state’s sex-offender registry. A federal lawsuit by an anonymous resident and an advocacy group alleges the ordinance violates sex offenders’ constitutional rights. Read more
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Winning One Battle at a Time
TN House Bill 407 went before the house committee on Wednesday. In summary, the bill which was proposed by House Rep. Doggett and Senator Hensley sought two amendments to the current registrant residency restriction law. First, it sought to increase from 1,000ft to 2,000ft, the current residency restrictions for registrants. Second, it asked to mandate that no registrant whose victim was a minor, shall knowingly reside or conduct an overnight visit at a residence in which a minor resides or is present. For weeks before this committee meeting myself and…
Read MoreTX: Judge’s campaign ‘team’ included convicted sex offender
[abc13.com – 3/20/19] HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A convicted sex offender had apparently worked for a newly-elected Harris County judge’s campaign, but wasn’t detected until he was handcuffed in a court room. ______, 36, appeared for an arraignment Wednesday, accused of failing to alert Houston Community College of his sex offender status while enrolled there. Deputies took ______ into custody while working for Harris County 270th Civil Court Judge Dedra Davis. Harris County has no record of ______ as an employee, and neither does the district court administrator. If they…
Read MoreACSOL Meeting in San Diego on Saturday, March 30
There is MUCH TO DISCUSS at this important monthly meeting! First, we will talk about Assembly Bill 884 and how it would gut the Tiered Registry Law by adding everyone convicted of PC 288(a) to Tier 3. That bill will be heard in the State Capitol on April 2. Second, we will discuss the status of the pending lawsuit against the City of San Diego which challenges the city’s residency restrictions. Third, we will listen to challenges YOU are currently facing. And as always, there will be free refreshments. ACSOL’s…
Read MoreCT: Press Release from One Standard of Justice, Inc. re: Windsor Locks federal suit re: “Child Safety Zones”
[onestandardofjustice.org – 2/7/19] On March 27, 2018, Stamford attorney Audrey Felsen of Koffsky & Felsen filed suit in federal court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the town of Windsor Locks. The suit, on behalf of plaintiffs One Standard of Justice, Inc. and a Windsor Locks resident identified as John Doe, challenges the constitutionality of Windsor Locks’ “Child Safety Zones” ordinance. “This suit is for declaratory and injunctive relief from an overly broad ordinance that clearly violates the first and fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution,” said Felsen. “The…
Read MoreThe Dobbs Wire: Banishment! Patty Wetterling, Jill Levenson and more
[twitter.com/TheDobbsWire – 3/18/19] The Dobbs Wire: Banishment! In the 21st century many localities in the United States use an ancient means to get rid of people who have been stigmatized and are despised, banishment. More formally and politely known as “residency restrictions,” the desired result of such laws is to drive individuals who are blacklisted — required to sign the sex offense registry — out of their houses and even out of town altogether. The most infamous example of these awful laws is the encampment of homeless registered persons that…
Read MoreNigeria: Ekiti state moves to publicly shame sex offenders by displaying their photographs in prominent places
[alternativeafrica.com – 3/18/19] Ekiti State Government in the western zone of Nigeria Monday announced new measures aimed at curbing sexual violence, especially child defilement and rape in the state. The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Wale Fapounda at a press conference to announce the new measures disclosed that persons currently standing trial for offence of child defilement and those whom the Director of Public Prosecution had issued a ‘case to answer’ legal advice for the same offense will henceforth undergo compulsory psychiatry test. Other measures according to…
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