[lohud.com] A New York State psychiatric center operated illegally with impunity while two dead bodies, 40 assaults and 25 sex offenses triggered police responses behind its walls from 2012 to 2016, The Journal News/lohud has found. The newly obtained tally of violence, roughly one attack per month, is part of 210 criminal incidents at Central New York Psychiatric Center. Much of the violence involved the mentally ill men locked up there, and it unfolded without the independent monitor required by law. From rapes and beatings to illicit drug use and…
Read MoreAuthor: R H
State Department Revokes Registrant’s Passport
The State Department has revoked the passport of a registrant who was convicted in and resides in California. This is the first known passport revocation following passage of the International Megan’s Law (IML) in February 2016. According to a letter from that federal agency, the registrant’s passport was revoked because it did not include the “unique identifier” required by the IML. The letter stated that the registrant’s passport “remains the property of the U.S. Government, and must be surrendered upon demand.” The letter also stated that the registrant must “immediately…
Read MoreAL: Signs in Yards & Chemical Castration: Bad Legislation to oppose during the 2018 Alabama legislative season
[reformalabama.blogspot.com] The following bills MUST BE opposed during this legislative season. SB195 By Senators Ward and Shelnutt RFD Judiciary Rd 1 18-JAN-18 Under existing law, community notification of sex offenders requires a flyer be mailed or hand delivered to required residences. The existing law also provides any other method reasonably expected to provide notification may be utilized. This bill would further authorize local law enforcement to post public notices on the property where adult sex offenders who are subject to community notification reside. Reason this is bad: This means the…
Read MoreVA: ‘Sexting’ teens could avoid felony charges under bill that clears Virginia Senate
[roanoke.com] RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate on Monday passed a bill intended to keep teenagers who willingly share sexually explicit images with each other from being branded felony sex offenders. The measure, which passed on a bipartisan 35-to-5 vote, would give prosecutors the option to charge “sexting” among minors as a misdemeanor. Read more
Read MoreID: Idaho Senate panel introduces bill to broaden sex crime laws
[idahostatesman.com] An Idaho Senate committee has introduced two bills that would broaden the definition of some sex crimes to include crimes committed with the intent of degrading or humiliating someone. Idaho Deputy Attorney General Paul Panther told the Senate Judiciary and Rules committee on Monday that both the state’s current statute on sexual battery and the statue on forcible penetration with a foreign object define the crimes as having been done with the intent of sexual gratification or arousal. But Panther said those statutes currently don’t cover situations like severe…
Read MoreFL: Man accused of killing cellmate: ‘There’s one less child molester’
[kcra.com] Florida authorities say an inmate who killed his cellmate last month while awaiting trial for killing another cellmate in 2015 is now in solitary confinement. The Panama City News Herald reports 21-year-old Frederick Patterson III said he killed his 82-year-old cellmate Arthur Williams on Jan. 15, and told correctional officers that “there’s one less child molester on the streets.” Advertisement Patterson, a convicted burglar, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for killing 45-year-old Scott Collinsworth, a convicted robber, in the Apalachee Correctional Institution. Patterson now faces a first-degree…
Read MoreFL: According to Homeless Trust, over 45% of Homeless in Miami-Dade County are Sex Offenders
[floridaactioncommittee.org] Last month, Ron Book was out with his “Homeless Trust” to count the homeless in Miami-Dade. Yes, literally, to manually count the homeless. According to this article, the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust counts the homeless twice a year in January and in August, but “tonight’s count is the one that counts for federal funding.” Counts for “federal funding”… no wonder Ron Book is on hand for that one. If it means more money for him, you can be sure he’ll be hands-on. But what about the stats? The article states,…
Read MoreHow to prevent child sexual abuse: Know the myths and realities
[salon.com] How would you describe a sex offender? In all likelihood, you would describe a monster — someone who lurks behind bushes and rapes unsuspecting women or abuses children. And that is how sex offenders are portrayed in the media. For most of us, much of what we know about sex offenders comes from movies, TV shows and news stories. However, those stories are often sensationalized portrayals — or cases that are the exception to the rule — rather than the norm. While cases like these do exist, they remain…
Read MoreFL: Four years after being called out on poor public policy, Florida is STILL putting children at risk
[sosen.org] On April 14, 2014, A national coalition of members of CURE, CURE-SORT, FAC, USA Fair and WAR members joined together to ask Florida legislators, “Why are the many children and families of former offenders being placed in danger from missed opportunities of effective legislation?” “Are the children of citizens on the sex offender registry less valuable to law makers?” Nearly four full years later, we are still awaiting a satisfactory answer. As of May 24, 2017, there were 69,917 people listed on the Florida state sex offender registry and…
Read MorePA: State to consider overhaul to sex offender registration law again
[buckscountycouriertimes.com] The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on a bill Monday. Nearly eight years ago, Bucks County resident Steve Gordon left state prison after completing a 10-year sentence for sexually assaulting a woman, but he was not quite a free man. His conviction for aggravated indecent sexual assault meant that Pennsylvania State Police would be keeping tabs on him for another decade. A little more than five years ago, though, Gordon, now 71, suddenly had state police monitoring him for the rest of his life, after state lawmakers…
Read MoreOK: Oklahoma lawmaker pushes bill for ‘chemical castration’ of sex offenders
[theguardian.com] A Republican lawmaker is pushing to add Oklahoma to the list of states in which so-called chemical castration is an option for certain sex offenders. State representative Rick West, a first-term lawmaker from Heavener, said he filed the bill at the request of a constituent and that he fully intends to push for its passage. It is likely to face strong opposition, even in a conservative state. If approved, Oklahoma would join at least seven other states that have laws allowing courts to order chemical treatments that reduce male…
Read MoreIA: Iowa court: offensive text photos aren’t indecent exposure
[thestate.com] DES MOINES, Iowa The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that text messaging a photo of one’s genitals to another person is not indecent exposure under state law. The court ruled found that to meet the definition of the Iowa law as written, such an offensive display must be done in the physical presence of the offended person. “While we acknowledge that one can be offended by a sexually explicit image transmitted via text message, it is much easier to ‘look away’ from that image than it is to avoid…
Read MoreLifeTimes Magazine: A positive magazine for registrants
[lifeonlist.org] When it comes to America’s sex-offense registry regime, there’s a lot to get outraged about. Indignation over its everyday cruelties serves a function when it moves us to action. But bad news isn’t everything. There’s a lot of good to point to among those living under the system. I learn that every time I meet a registrant or one of their family members who’s running a thriving business, started a support group, or spending every week visiting legislators. Last month the first issue of a new magazine came out…
Read MoreProf. Janus establishes center devoted to sex-offender litigation, policy
[mitchellhamline.edu] Mitchell Hamline School of Law is pleased to announce the creation of a center devoted to tracking litigation and encouraging effective public policy related to sexual offenders. Directed by Professor Eric Janus, a leading national expert on sexual violence law and policy, the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center collects and disseminates information about cases related to sex-offender policy and laws. Supported by a grant from the Vital Projects Fund, the center seeks to facilitate communication, sharing, and the development of strategies among lawyers, advocates, and academics who…
Read MoreIL: Illinois Appellate Court Rules Lifetime Sex Offender Registration “Grossly Disproportionate Punishment” for 21 Year Old
[floridaactioncommittee.org] The opinion in People v. Tetter, which came out a couple days ago, is another great decision to add to our growing list of cases where courts have found the registry to be “punishment” and conditions of the registry have crossed the line into irrational. Kyle Tetter was 21 when he met a girl on an online social media app. Her profile said she was 18. Even though he later learned she was 16, they continued the consensual relationship and eventually she became pregnant and her mother reported him…
Read MoreIL: Class worked to break the cycle of sex offenses
[news.illinoisstate.edu] The criminal justice majors in Shelly Clevenger’s course studying sex offenses are usually prepared for a final project that is out-of-the-ordinary. “I’ve had a lot of these same students in my other classes, so they know their projects will be a little quirky,” said Clevenger, whose innovative teaching has been honored by the American Society of Criminology. “I wanted something that will help them communicate with their audience.” For the future members of law enforcement, that means connecting not only with those who are vulnerable to sexual offenses, but…
Read More‘Glee’ Star Mark Salling Dead of Apparent Suicide
[yahoo.com] Mark Salling has reportedly died in an apparent suicide weeks before being sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography. He was 35. TMZ, The Blast and E! all reported his death. LAPD PIO told PEOPLE that officers responded to a death investigation at the 11900 block of Big Tujunga Cyn Road Tuesday morning at 8:50 a.m. but could not identify Salling. The Glee star pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor Oct. 4, 2017. After striking a plea deal in December, he was due…
Read MoreCO: Greeley’s Alternative Homes for Youth works to rehabilitate juvenile sex offenders
[greeleytribune.com] Shayna Miller’s goal every day is to help the kids she works with do something in which they can take pride. That can include volunteer work, gardening, schoolwork, art and more. She hopes that way they’ll realize they can be more than the crime they committed. Miller is the executive director of Alternative Homes for Youth in Greeley, a nonprofit agency that works to teach, support and model healthy life skills to youth and families. About 60 percent of the boys in the program have committed a sexual offense,…
Read More