[pressreader.com for Courier-Mail, 1/14/19] Veteran criminal lawyer Chris Nyst says a public register for child sex offenders could result in unfair convictions from biased jurors, if they were given easy access to defendant’s criminal history. Read more
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Kat’s Blog: The Registry: A Valuable Public Safety Tool?
If you have a few minutes, read Florida’s Sex Offender Registration and Monitoring Triennial Review 2018 (www.oppaga.state.fl.us). Even if you don’t live in Florida, it’s an interesting slog thru what governmental bureaucracy thinks is important when it comes to the registry. The highlight of this auditing monstrosity is the attached letter at the end of the report from Fl. Dept. of Law and Enforcement to the coordinator of the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Governmental Accountability, stating “the registry is a valuable public safety tool”. I read the report…
Read MoreNARSOL: RIT study is Butner Redux deja vu
[narsol.org – 1/7/19] Michael M . . . A recent study conducted by researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology, or RIT, is already being cited in Federal Court cases to support the false presumption of a high rate of unreported child molestations by those convicted of child pornography offenses. This is despite the fact that it suffers from exactly the same serious flaws and inaccuracies as the infamous and thoroughly discredited “Butner Redux” study, which first appeared in the Journal of Family Violence in 2009. For those who may…
Read MoreCivil Rights Attorney to be Keynote Speaker at ACSOL’s Conference on June 14 and June 15
Civil rights attorney Adele Nicholas will be the keynote speaker at ACSOL’s third annual conference to be held on June 14 and June 15 in Los Angeles. Nicholas has represented the rights of registrants in multiple lawsuits challenging residency restrictions, access to public places and hospital visitations in Illinois and neighboring states in the Great Lakes region. “We are delighted that Ms. Nicholas has agreed to be the keynote speaker at this year’s conference,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “She is a dedicated and effective civil rights attorney who…
Read MoreFL: Miami-Herald: FAC Opinion Published
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 1/4/19. Not available on miamiherald.com] An opinion piece in response to a recent article in the Miami Herald was published today. The text of the response and an image of the article as it appeared are below. Your December 31, 2018 article, “Report: Number of sex offenders living in Florida is growing.” correctly points out that the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) does not include any explanation for the rise in the number of sex offenders in our State. However, the reason is obvious.…
Read MoreCA: Wiener details 2019 LGBT bills
[ebar.com – 1/2/19] While his bills aimed at addressing California’s housing crisis are expected to be some of the most closely watched legislative fights this year, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) will also be pushing to pass legislation focused on LGBT issues. … Another bill Wiener plans to introduce this year would prevent gay male adolescents from having to be listed on the state’s sex offender registry. He aims to include a “Romeo/Juliet” clause for gay teenagers so they are treated similarly to their heterosexual counterparts. Under the…
Read MoreNew US Sentencing Commission Report: Mandatory Minimums for Federal Sex Offenses
[ussc.gov – 1/1/19] Summary (Published January 2019) This publication examines the application of mandatory minimum penalties specific to federal sex offenses; it is the sixth and final release in the Commission’s series of publications on mandatory minimum penalties. Using fiscal year 2016 data, this publication includes analyses of the two types of federal sex offenses carrying mandatory minimum penalties, sexual abuse offenses and child pornography offenses, as well their impact on the Federal Bureau of Prisons population. In addition to analyzing child pornography offenses generally, this publication analyzes child pornography…
Read MoreFL: Report: Number of sex offenders living in Florida is growing
[miamiherald.com – 12/31/18] TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The number of sex offenders and predators living in Florida has been rising steadily for more than a decade, according to a new report put together by legislative auditors. The report issued late last week stated that nearly 29,000 registered sex offenders and predators now reside in the state. That’s an increase of 53 percent since 2005, when state legislators first ordered their auditors to review the state’s efforts to keep an up-to-date registry of sex offenders. The report by the Office of Program Policy…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Sometimes A Song Is Just A Song
Baby It’s Cold Outside. It was just a wintery song from the late forties, nothing more. A song that’s been sung during the Christmas holidays for decades. Generations grew up singing along with the radio, no one ever had issues with it. That is until now. Now it’s the latest moral holiday debate. The victim of a # movement. Someone or some group decides they don’t like the sound of those lyrics, that the lyrics foster a pro- rape, sexist attitude in our society. And just like that, thousands of…
Read MoreIsraeli Sex Offenders Are No Longer Allowed to Change Name
[haaretz.com – 1/1/19] The Knesset on Monday passed into law a bill that prohibits people convicted of sex crimes from changing their name. “The law came about as a response to complaints by women who were shocked to learn they had been in a relationship with convicted sex offenders in the past,” said Meretz MK Michal Rozin, who drafted the law. “This had been hidden from them since the men had changed their names. We’re now letting the public and the victims protect themselves from people convicted of sex crimes.”…
Read MoreThe Dobbs Wire: Rogue judge driven off the bench
[The Dobbs Wire email – 12/25/18] A Pittsburgh criminal court judge has finally submitted her resignation. Judge Donna Jo McDaniel’s expected exit comes after repeated rebukes by a Pennsylvania appeals court, extensive news coverage, the ire of at least one editorial board, and talk of an investigation by the state’s judicial conduct commission. First elected to the bench in 1985, McDaniel was driven from office for failing to deliver fair and impartial justice – treating individuals charged with sex offenses (and their defense counsel) terribly, imposing excessive sentences and repeatedly…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Media Can’t Leave Well Enough Alone
From the small town (pop. 2,000+) of Sardis, Mississippi came a Christmas Story with a happy ending, sort of. Michael Clay Saripkin, a registrant, served as the Grand Marshal of the Sardis Christmas parade Dec. 11 2018. According to the news article most of the residents of Sardis have no problem with a man with a past being named Grand Marshal by the town’s Chamber of Commerce. And isn’t that the way it should be, because everyone has a past. The facts of Mr. Saripkin’s case can be read on…
Read MoreReminder of NARSOL’s helpline open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day
For everyone who may be feeling more lonely and depressed as Christmas draws nearer, NARSOL wishes to remind you of our fully staffed helpline opening at 7 a.m. eastern time on Christmas Eve. The volunteers who will be manning the lines all have intimate knowledge of what being on the registry is like and how difficult holidays can be, and they are happy to “be there” for anyone who needs a listening ear. Here are the details: The holiday helpline will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. eastern…
Read MoreMS: Mississippi Town Chose Sex Offender as Its Christmas Parade Grand Marshal
[newsweek.com – 12/17/18] Residents of small town in Mississippi said they do not care that its Christmas parade grand marshal has been listed on the sex offender registry in two different states. Michael Clay Saripkin, a convicted sex offender, served as grand marshal of the Sardis Christmas parade on December 11. Some residents of the Mississippi town told local media that they saw no problem with Saripkin’s role in the Christmas parade. Carolyn Whaley, owner of The Eclectic Emporium on Main Street, told WMC that everyone in town knew Saripkin…
Read MoreRonald L. Book: I thought sexual abuse only happened to other people’s children. Then I woke up.
[usatoday.com – 12/10/18] Nearly 17 years ago, I woke up from a nightmare I didn’t realize I was in. If you’re a parent whose child has suffered sexual abuse at the hands of someone you know and trust, you will understand what I mean. Sitting in a family counselor’s office, the world as I knew it came crashing down as I learned that my eldest daughter, Lauren, had been sexually, emotionally and physically abused nearly every day from the ages of 12 to 16. I worked hard to provide my…
Read MoreMN: Judge strikes down city ordinance restricting sex offender housing
[startribune.com – 12/18/18] A Hennepin County judge has struck down an ordinance in Dayton, Minn. that restricts where sex offenders can live in the community, saying the measure is trumped by state law. The far-reaching ordinance barred convicted sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of any school, day care provider, park, playground or public bus stop — even a pumpkin patch or apple orchard — within the city of Dayton, a rural community of about 5,000 residents northwest of the Twin Cities. The measure was hastily passed by the…
Read MoreUT: Social work expert disagrees with federal law enforcers about sex offender treatment
[deseretnews.com – 12/15/18] A University of Utah social work professor and therapist disagrees with the state’s top federal law enforcement officials’ assessment that treatment for child sex offenders doesn’t work. Rob Butters, who has also worked as a probation officer, said it’s unfortunate they made the statement in a public forum because “it’s simply not true.” “We know that treatment works a lot better than incarceration,” he said. “Prison doesn’t make people better. It just keeps them incapacitated.” U.S. Attorney John Huber and FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Barnhart…
Read MoreMI: This Proposed Michigan Law Would Treat Parents Who Use Drugs Like Sex Offenders
[filtermag.org – 12/12/18] Sex offender registries and notification laws have proliferated in the name of protecting women and children, despite the fact that the evidence does not show that they prevent sex crimes. In fact, some evidence suggests that notification laws—which require that registry information be made available to the broader public—may increase recidivism and overall rates of sex crime. Even so, the State of Michigan seems poised to add a public, online, and searchable child abuse registry modeled on the sex offender registry. “Wyatt’s Law,” which passed the Michigan…
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