[syracuse.com] WASHINGTON — Sex offenders who move to New York state will no longer be able to exploit an FBI loophole when they apply for jobs at summer camps and other organizations that work with children, according to U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer. A bill passed by Congress authorizes the FBI to make its full database available for employer background checks, regardless of where an individual had to register as a sex offender. Schumer, D-N.Y., had tried for almost eight years to pass legislation that allows the FBI to release all…
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AL: Colbert County Sheriff issues apology following “miscommunication” in sex offender notification
[whnt.com] Tuscumbia, Ala. – Colbert County’s top law enforcement officer issued an apology first thing Monday morning. A lack of communication with other law enforcement agencies in the county led to a delay in residents being notified of a sex offender registration. There are 122 registered sex offenders in Colbert County. It’s part of Sheriff Frank Williamson’s job to keep up with them. Recently, however, one registration slipped through the cracks. “I want to apologize for my part in that miscommunication,” stated Williamson. Read more
Read MoreCT: Mother of victims wants schools to know if students are sex offenders
[theday.com] A New Fairfield mother who said her daughters were sexually assaulted by a family friend is pushing for a law that would require the state to notify a school superintendent when a juvenile who lives in the district and will enroll in school there is a convicted sexual offender. “We have all seen the horrible and tragic events that are unfolding too often in school settings, when children with mental health issues are not given the help and attention they need,” said the woman, whose name is being withheld…
Read MoreFL: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Sex Offender Residency Restriction Declared Unconstitutional
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The Ft Lauderdale Sex Offender Residency Restriction was declared unconstitutional. Wait… what?!?! A Florida SORR was declared unconstitutional? YES! The municipal ordinance in the City of Ft. Lauderdale that prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 1400 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds, school bus stops, etc. was found to violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Constitution! Hold on… what? Are you serious? YES! We’ve known for a while (since February 16th) but have been waiting to make the official announcement until we had an order back from…
Read MoreCongress Approves FY18 Funding Levels for Criminal Justice Programs
[csgjusticecenter.org] U.S. CapitolLast week, the U.S. Congress approved the $1.3 trillion Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus Appropriations bill that would set government funding through Sep. 30, 2018. The bill provides $30.3 billion for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and includes $2.9 billion for various state and local law enforcement assistance grant programs. The bill increases funding for the Second Chance Act, from $68 million in FY17 to $85 million in FY18. The Second Chance Act, which was originally passed with bipartisan support and signed into law by President George W. Bush…
Read MoreNC: Abusing his authority, NC Sheriff goes “above and beyond” what the law allows
[narsol.org] By Robin Vander Wall . . . In June, 2017, a registered sex offender in Halifax County was visited by the sheriff’s office for his biannual verification check. Eight days later, and after successful verification of his address, the same registered sex offender was charged with kidnapping and attempting to rape a 1-year-old child. So much for the usefulness of verification checks, right? Predictably enough, Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison doesn’t see it that way. In a July interview with CBS17, and in response to the incident in Halifax…
Read MoreSupreme Court rule: (Other) justices shouldn’t conduct independent research
[washingtonpost.com] During last week’s Supreme Court arguments about crisis pregnancy centers, Justice Sonia Sotomayor introduced a long line of questions by saying she had recently visited the website of one of the clinics that is a party to the suit. Eventually, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy broke in to ask his own question, but not before tossing a grenade Sotomayor’s way. “Well, in this case I didn’t go beyond the record to look on the Internet because I don’t think we should do that, but I do have a hypothetical,” Kennedy…
Read MoreUS Senate pass measure to fight sex trafficking, bill heads to Trump
[abs-cbn.com] WASHINGTON – The US Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday aimed at countering sex trafficking that allows victims of such exploitation to seek justice against website owners who knowingly promote or facilitate it. Senators voted 97-2 to pass the measure, which cleared the House of Representatives last month and now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature. Supporters hailed the passage of the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) as a major victory, but the measure is not without its critics: some say it would undermine…
Read MoreOH: CSU QB isn’t on sex offender registry because conviction came as minor
[reformohio.blogspot.com] Central State University football player ______ was convicted in 2013 along with a Steubenville High School teammate of raping a 16-year-old girl who was incapacitated by alcohol. But because ____was a juvenile at the time, his conviction does not appear on the sex offender registry. If not for widespread publicity of the crime, ____‘s conviction would be unknown to many of his fellow students, and possibly to the school. Central State officials would not comment on their decision to allow ____ to enroll and play football, citing federal laws…
Read MoreLeading-Edge Law: College-Picking Time: Talk with Your Child About Sex Offenses and Investigate Due Process
[richmond.com] High school seniors are in the process of making college selections. But before picking a school, investigate how prospective colleges handle sex-related offenses and talk with your child about this issue. This concerns the quality of due process on college campuses for students accused of sex-related offenses. “Due process” means the fairness to the accused of the process for adjudicating these charges. It would be easy but unwise to dismiss this issue by thinking your child wouldn’t rape anybody. Most cases involve situations where the male claims sex was…
Read MoreKS: Changes to juvenile offender registration shelved
[gctelegram.com] TOPEKA — A Kansas House bill contemplating changes to juvenile offender registration has been delayed so that it can be reviewed by the Judicial Council. The council will review the legislation and make recommendations on how to proceed, Rep. J. Russell Jennings, R-Lakin, said during a committee meeting last week. No legislative action is expected this session. Last month, three people spoke in favor of the measure, which proposed treating juvenile sex offenders the same as adult sex offenders in terms of registration requirements. Information on adult sex offenders…
Read MoreWhat BYP100 Director Charlene Carruthers Wishes She Knew About Community Organizing
[teenvogue.com] I wasn’t born a leader; I was agitated into choosing leadership by growing up on the South Side of Chicago. I didn’t wake up at 18 understanding what white supremacy, patriarchy, anti-blackness, and capitalism meant. Self-study, comrades, elders, and people I met in the streets taught me how to understand the world and gave me the room to imagine a radically different future… … Understanding power is essential. We can change the people and the leadership — but if we don’t change the structure, values, purpose, and vision of…
Read MoreKS: Can letting ex-offenders work make us safer? One state wants to find out
[rstreet.org] Which of the last two presidents vowed to give ex-offenders a second chance in a State of the Union Address? You could hardly be blamed for guessing President Barack Obama, but the answer is President Trump. The quote made headlines due to its peculiarity coming from the “law and order” candidate, but it revealed that even hardliners like Trump are considering better ways to reintegrate former prisoners into society. In Kansas, both Democratic and Republican members of the legislature have acknowledged a substantial obstacle to offender reentry: the ability…
Read MoreFL: Gov. Rick Scott Signs Two Sex Offender Bills Into Law
[UPDATED LINKS 3/26/18] [flsenate.gov, spacecoastdaily.com] As reported on spacecoastdaily.com State website links: https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/01301 CS/HB 1301: Sexual Offenders and Predators. GENERAL BILL by Justice Appropriations Subcommittee ; Fitzenhagen ; (CO-INTRODUCERS) Hager ; Spano Sexual Offenders and Predators; Reducing aggregate & consecutive number of days used to determine residency for purposes of sexual predator or sexual offender registration; provides for mandatory sentence of community control with electronic monitoring for certain offenses committed by sexual predators & sexual offenders if court does not impose prison sentence. Related links for CS/HB 1301: Governor Scott…
Read MoreAL: Will state legislators render teachers ‘improper’ sex cops?
[al.com] We want schools to be educational safe havens for our children. At the same time, public policies designed to make schools safer may carry unintended consequences. Legislation making teachers liable for policing “improper sexual conduct” is winding its way through the Alabama Legislature, and it shouldn’t become law without serious vetting by legislators. Senator Clyde Chambliss (R-Autauga County) introduced SB26 responding to a constituent family’s preference that juvenile sexual offenders (JSOs) not be “mainstreamed” in Alabama’s public schools. At the beginning of this school year, the family’s son spotted…
Read MoreCT: Nursing home can continue to service sex offenders, Judge says
[floridaactioncommittee.org] A Connecticut Superior Court Judge allowed a Rocky Hill Nursing Facility to remain open and servicing its patients, after the Town tried to shut it down, finding the fact that it provides care to prison parolees does not violate Rocky Hill’s zoning code. The Hartford Courant reported that “neighbors testified during the trial in August that the presence of sex offenders had caused unease in the neighborhood and real estate professionals testified that the facility had caused property values in the neighborhood to go down.” Read more
Read MoreOH: Sex offender says Ohio’s registry ‘destroys lives,’ should be abolished
[mydaytondailynews.com] CINCINNATI — Derek Logue is a member of one of the few groups it is socially acceptable for people to openly hate. He knows online comments on this story will likely refer to him in the most vulgar terms, and no one will come to his defense. But Logue said people like him are being unfairly discriminated against, and he thinks something should be done about it. Logue is one of 17,236 adult registered sex offenders in Ohio, a group whose criminal histories are accessible to anyone with an…
Read MoreFL: Orange Beach homicide victim identified as registered sex offender
[weartv.com] The Orange Beach Police Department has identified a homicide victim as a registered sex offender. Police said 53-year-old Raymond Curtis Dudley has been identified as the body found Thursday near Cypress Street and Wolf Bay. Investigators say Dudley is originally from Massachusetts and a registered sex offender. Police are asking anyone who may have been in contact with Dudley on March 21 to contact them at (251) 981-9777. See original article
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