[foxnews.com 4/27/18] Bills labeled “criminal justice reform” have circulated in Congress for the past three years, but while they are well-meaning, they would do far more harm than good. This includes a measure sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, titled the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. The Grassley legislation would make our communities less safe by returning still more convicted criminals from federal prisons to the streets sooner. In addition, the Grassley bill would tie up hundreds of federal prosecutors, who would be forced to deal with sentencing reduction motions…
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Breaking down the Michigan bills+ Breaking down the Michigan bills intended to stop the next Larry Nassar
[bridgemi.com 4/24/18] It’s been three months since Larry Nassar was sent to spend the rest of his life in prison for criminal sexual conduct, after more than 200 women and girls said he sexually abused them. Now, representatives in Michigan’s state House are considering bills they hope will prevent other predators from following in his footsteps. There are more than 30 bills total, which range from more rigorous medical practice requirements to extending the statute of limitations on criminal sexual conduct prosecutions and lawsuits. Most have bipartisan sponsorship. Read more…
Read MoreNY: A Jury Rejected the Charges, but He Still Has to Register As a Sex Offender for Life
[reason.com 4/30/18] New York’s highest court says accusations can be considered for registration purposes even when the defendant was acquitted. In New York a defendant can be forced to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life based on accusations a jury rejected. So the state’s highest court ruled last week in a case that illustrates how fear and loathing of sex offenders lead to results that would be recognized as unjust and illogical in any other context. __________’s 13-year-old niece, identified in court documents as A.B.,…
Read MoreAction Alert for CA: Write AB 2839 letters now and show up on May 9
As our article on California Assembly Bill 2839 described (you can refresh your knowledge by clicking this link), this bill would disenfranchise hundreds of men who are otherwise eligible to vote and have been designated sexually violent predators at Coalinga State Hospital. Please fax a letter to Assembly Elections Committee Chair Marc Berman at 916-319-2194 as soon as you can and before May 9. Please use this as a model, but do not copy it word for word. Also, be sure to include your name and address: Senator Marc Berman,…
Read MoreInstagram now bans registered sex offenders
[floridaactioncommittee.org 4/30/18] On April 19, 2018, Facebook owned Instagram, revised it’s Terms of Use. The new version replaces the prior version, which had been in place since 2013, can be found here: http://help.instagram.com/581066165581870?helpref=page_content Sadly, included in this months change is a ban on anyone registered as a sex offender. The restriction did not appear in the prior version. Read more
Read MoreIN: Indiana Supreme Court suggests declaratory judgment a better avenue to challenge collateral consequences
[floridaactioncommittee.org 4/30/18] Although the Indiana Supreme Court ruled against a registered sex offender father trying to attend his son’s school events, they did give him some guidance on how to go about his challenge. Douglas Kirby plead guilty to child solicitation eight years ago and was sentenced to eighteen months probation. While he was on probation (and until 2015) he was permitted to come on campus to see his son’s school activities. That was until Indiana passed a law in 2015 making it a felony for him to ” knowingly…
Read MoreCanada: Support group helps sex offenders in Saskatoon
[globalnews.ca 4/28/18] Much like there are support groups for alcoholics or drug abusers, one in Saskatoon is helping sex offenders. Meaghan Craig looks at its importance. As first reported by Global News, convicted sex offender ______ now has a new alias. In the last two months, the soon-to-be 30-year-old has taken the steps to legally change his name to ______ and mask his true identity to members of the public. This on the heels of long-term offender ______ arrest in late April, who was going by the name ______ ,…
Read MoreIndia Sex Offenders’ Registry Not the Answer
[hrw.org 4/27/18] Reeling from protests across the country demanding justice for victims in the recent spate of sexual assaults, Indian authorities are under pressure to respond. One step the government has decided to adopt is a sex offenders’ database, which will store the profile and personal details of convicted offenders and those accused of such offenses. Children accused of such crimes may also be included in the database. For several years, some senior government ministers have been calling for mandatory registration of sex offenders. It reflects public concern that children…
Read MoreFL: Video Shows City Workers Destroying Property of Homeless Miamians
[miaminewtimes.com 4/25/18] The morning of April 17, Wilbur Cauley left all of his belongings in their usual place: stacked by a fence under the I-395 overpass at NW First Court and 13th Street. It was in the middle of a four-block area where about 30 homeless Miamians live. That morning, Cauley, an Army veteran in his late 50s who served three years in Germany, went to a nearby store for a soda. When he returned, he says, a man in a dark-green shirt was kicking bags that contained Cauley’s birth…
Read MorePassport revoked
[narsol.org 4/27/18] By Scott . . . I’m on the board of Illinois Voices for Reform and have been actively involved with the organization since 2012. I am on the registry for life as currently required by Illinois law due to an incident involving a minor back in 2008. I served two years of probation and successfully completed sex offender counseling in 2012. My wife and I love to travel, and we were fortunate to be able to travel to Europe for a week at the end of March. I…
Read MoreFederal SORN Policies
[sexlawandpolicy.org] There are few people as uniformly despised as people with sex offense convictions. It’s not hard to understand when you’re inundated with overblown reports concluding that all people on the registry are sexually recidivistic, incurable, and predatory. Overcome by outrage and fear we support any measures to protect against victimization, even if the proposed legislation is a sweeping and draconian measure. The last twenty-five years is a lasting testament to our panicked response to media hysterics and hyperbole, especially at the federal level. During this time, a number of…
Read MoreIA: Convicted Sex Offender Allowed to Volunteer at Iowa Schools
[usnews.com 4/27/18] WELLMAN, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa teacher purged from the state’s sex offender list has been allowed to volunteer at an eastern Iowa school district. The Des Moines Register reports that _____ has been helping out in the Mid-Prairie schools district, which is based in Wellman. The district granted him special permission to volunteer, after receiving letters of support. Superintendent Mark Schneider says he has informed school principals that Yo_____ der must be with another adult at all times. Read more
Read MoreWI: Judge: Wisconsin sex offender can visit sick son at hospital
[washingtonpost.com 4/25/18] MILWAUKEE — A registered sex offender will be allowed to visit his severely ill 9-year-old son despite objections from Wisconsin Children’s Hospital, a Milwaukee County judge ruled Wednesday. The order from Judge William Pocan carries restrictions, however. Stuart Yates, 49, must give two-hour advance notice for his visits and he can only stay for six hours each time. Yates must also be with his son at all times. Yates was barred from the hospital on March 6 after hospital officials learned of his past. He was convicted of…
Read MoreNJ Supreme Court Strikes Down Mandatory Lifetime Registration for Juvenile Sex Offenders
On Tuesday, April, 24, 2018 the New Jersey Supreme Court struck down a provision of Megan’s Law that required certain juvenile sex offenders to register for life. The case, State in the Interest of C.K., involved a juvenile adjudicated delinquent for a sex offense committed when he was a teenager. The High Court noted that twenty years had passed since C.K. committed his offense and that multiple psychological evaluations had found he posed “an extremely low risk to reoffend.” The Court held that requiring individuals, like C.K., to register for…
Read MoreSex Offense Registry Fact Sheet – April 2018
[floridaactioncommittee.org 4/24/18] Emily Horowitz, author and Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice, has put together the Registry Fact Sheet linked to below. This is a very well researched, comprehensive document that is full of useful information (including authorities) that you can cite to when contacting your legislators, the media or anyone you communicate on sex offender issues with. Read more
Read MoreIs this a trap? US Marshals Service puts up IML Complaint form
[floridaactioncommittee.org 4/24/18] As part of the International Megan’s Law, the US Marshals Service has been notifying receiving countries when a registrant is traveling. You can imagine how the immigration officials in a country you are traveling to will react when they receive a warning from the US Marshals that you are arriving. Travelers have been intercepted upon arrival, interrogated and turned back on the next flight. In most cases, they are denied entry, unable to attend to business, visit family, attend a loved one’s wedding ceremony or simply see the…
Read MoreFL: At schools, sexual predator monitoring should start inside the classroom
[floridaactioncommittee.org 4/24/18] Within the past three weeks two teachers from Lake Howell High School were arrested, as usual this was picked up in the news cycle. What stands out to me is how the news reports these arrests, it is reported as just a matter of fact simply to state that it happened. Every October almost every news station has a segment on Halloween and how parents must check the SOR to make sure their kids are safe during trick or treating. Lets put this in perspective for a moment,…
Read MoreME: Maine Towns Allowed To Ban Sex Offenders From Parks, Fields
[mainepublic.org 4/23/18] AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine towns will be able to ban sex offenders from any state or municipal park, athletic field or recreational facility serving children. A new law allows municipalities to prohibit sex offenders from coming within 750 feet of such property. Officials in Madawaska had argued that state law only allowed municipalities to ban such individuals who come near property leased to nonprofits. Republican Gov. Paul LePage signed Democratic Rep. Roland Martin’s bill into law on April 18, and it will take effect three months after lawmakers…
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