Author: R H

PA: Judge grants work release for ex-guard who sexually assaulted Northampton County inmate

R H

Source: lehighvalleylive.com 9/22/22 A Northampton County judge sentenced a former county prison guard to jail Wednesday for sexually assaulting a female inmate, but also granted the man immediate work release. Kelvin Myers, 41, of Forks Township, previously pleaded guilty to institutional sexual assault and was in court Wednesday for his sentencing in the case. Judge Murray sentenced Myers to four months to 18 months in county prison. Under the institutional sexual assault charge, Myers must register as a sex offender for 15 years under Pennsylvania’s version of Megan’s Law. “This…

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WV: West Virginia Man Charged with Federal Civil Rights Offenses for Sexual Assault of Two Victims

R H

Source: justice.gov 9/22/22 A former parole officer with the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation was arrested today after being charged in federal court with civil rights violations, obstruction of justice and making false statements to federal investigators. Anthony _____, 44, was charged in a seven-count indictment unsealed today, with five counts of acting under color of law to deprive individuals of their civil rights, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of false statements to federal investigators. The indictment alleges that, while _____ was acting in…

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SORNA Regulations Preliminary Injunction Hearing to Be Conducted on Monday Sept 26

R H

Source: ACSOL In another surprising ruling, the federal district court judge has decided to conduct a hearing on the pending preliminary injunction motion in the SORNA regulations case.  The judge made this decision earlier today despite the fact that both parties had agreed to waive oral argument. The hearing will be held on Monday, September 26 starting at 9 a.m. View the hearing online by clicking on this Zoom Webinar link Although the public is allowed to appear in the courtroom for this hearing, it is not recommended that you come…

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VA: Victory in Supreme Court of Virginia against out-of-control prosecution

R H

Source: ajustfuture.org 9/20/22 Justices declare effort targeting leading advocate illegal, ending 5-year court battle On Thursday, the highest court in Virginia ended the Commonwealth’s 13-year campaign to indefinitely detain a prominent advocate on criminal justice matters, Galen Baughman. In a victory for justice the Supreme Court ruled that the petition filed against Baughman in 2017 was illegal. A Short History of Baughman’s Fight Baughman has been targeted by the Virginia attorney general’s office under the state’s civil confinement scheme since 2009 when prosecutors filed a petition to send him to…

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AZ: U.S. Marshals target sex offenders in Northern Arizona operation

R H

Source: kyma.com 9/20/22 YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The combined efforts of the United States Marshals Service, Navajo County Sheriff’s Office and state police departments led to hundreds of sex offender compliance checks. In a press release, only one arrest was made in a compliance operation across Northern Arizona. “The Marshals Service is committed to assisting our partner agencies with sex offender compliance checks. By determining if offenders are complying with court ordered requirements, especially in rural communities, we help protect those most vulnerable to sex offenders,” said District of…

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FL: He Served 18 Months for a Sex Offense. He’s Re-Imprisoned Anyway, Possibly for Life.

R H

Source: flaglerlive.com 9/21/22 Under Florida law, imprisonment does not depend only on proven guilt of a crime. It can also result from the possibility of a future crime. The imprisonment can be up to life. The offender has few avenues of appeal. The case is not even public. The documents on which it is based are sealed from public view. It is a little known but disquieting side of Florida law, permissible under the so-called Jimmy Ryce Act, which allows the “involuntary civil commitment” of sexually violent and dangerous predators…

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TX: Llano County man sentenced to 50 years for violating sex offender registration requirements

R H

Source: kvue.com 9/21/22 BURNET, Texas — John Benedict “J.B.” _____ pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to 50 years in prison for violating his sex offender registration requirements. _____ was required to register as a sex offender after multiple 1997 Williamson County convictions for victimizing two young girls over a four-year period, according to a release from the 33rd/424th District Attorney’s office in Burnet.  Years after he was paroled from prison, _____ used an unreported Facebook account to attempt to contact one of his victims, which is in violation of…

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FL: What do you think about Jacksonville not enforcing the sign requirement for sex offenders on Halloween?

R H

Source: news4jax.com 9/22/22  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two registered sex offenders filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville because they want to decorate for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays. Thursday, the offenders asked the judge to pause the city sign requirement outside their home because they believe it’s unconstitutional. Sex offenders in Jacksonville are required to have signs posted outside their home that read “no candy or treats here” so that children don’t trick-or-treat at their homes on Halloween. Because of the lawsuit, the city of Jacksonville has…

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NY: Catalfamo: End in-person college instruction for sex offenders

R H

Source: poststar.com 9/20/22 Dave Catalfamo, Republican candidate for state Assembly District 113, pledged on Tuesday that he would introduce legislation that would bar registered sex offenders from taking classes on college campuses. The pledge is inspired by a SUNY Adirondack student, Destiny Rose, who began a petition to remove a registered sex offender, Timothy ___, 50, of Glens Falls, from campus, and switch him to virtual learning. Catalfamo said a story in Tuesday’s Post-Star is what prompted his pledge. As of Tuesday afternoon, the petition had 1,001 signatures. ___ was…

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Child Sex-Abuse Cases No Longer ‘Priority’ for FBI amid January 6 Investigation, Whistleblower Claims

R H

Source: yahoo.com 9/20/22 The FBI is sidelining investigations into child sexual abuse in order to pursue January 6 probes and is inflating the number of “domestic extremism” cases across the country, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee claimed in a letter Monday, citing whistleblowers. The committee’s letter was spearheaded by ranking member Jim Jordan, and was addressed to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. It comes on the heels of another committee letter that cited whistleblowers claiming the FBI was “pressuring agents” to label cases as “domestic violent extremism” even when they didn’t…

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Sociologist, Author Emily Horowitz to Join ACSOL Virtual Conference on October 1

R H

Sociologist, professor and author Emily Horowitz will join the ACSOL Zoom conference on Saturday, October 1, 2022 both as a plenary speaker and a panelist.  She will share with all conference attendees the results of her recent research regarding the daily challenges faced by registrants in the presentation, “I’m Free, But Not Free.  Alive But Not Alive: Life on the Registry.”  She will also join ACSOL President Chance Oberstein on a panel regarding “How to Succeed in an Adverse Social Environment.” The conference will also include presentations by civil rights…

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ACSOL October 15, 2022 Meeting

R H

Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next meeting.  The meeting will be held on Saturday, October 15, online on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 PM Eastern, and will last at least two hours. You can use the Zoom app or call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting. You can use the Zoom app to see Janice and Chance and choose to…

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Former Law Enforcement Launch Raven to Combat Child Exploitation

R H

Source: prnewswire.com 9/19/22 Raven, the first effort of its kind, will fight to increase resources and funding to law enforcement to help save children from exploitation  WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — As cases of child exploitation are rapidly increasing, some of the world’s most respected retired child exploitation investigators, retired ICAC Commanders, sex offender treatment providers, technology innovators and policy experts in the United States announced the formation of Raven. The 501(c)4 organization is dedicated to protecting children from victimization by raising awareness of the threat of online child…

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“Panicked Legislation”: Read ACSOL board member Professor Catherine Carpenter’s newest law review article

R H

Professor Carpenter makes a groundbreaking and innovative argument against the registry. She presents a compelling case for how judges could utilize the “Irrebuttable Presumption Doctrine” to challenge the registry on the basis that it is grounded in false and discredited junk science. Click here to download the free “Panicked Legislation” article Abstract of the paper: We are in the throes of a moral panic. It is not the first time, nor will it likely be the last, but it is among the most enduring. Dubbed the sex panic, it has…

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How to Get a Sex Offender Out of Your Neighborhood

R H

Source: truthfinder.com 9/14/22 One where they don’t have to be concerned when their children go to play outside. But it’s hard to know who all your neighbors are. You may be inclined to background check your neighbors. You never know, there might be individuals with a criminal history on the block, including people who commit sexual assault and other sex crimes. Many parents can’t help asking themselves, “What do I do if I live next to a sex offender?” One thing you do is worry. Another is to constantly keep…

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CA: Number of CA Registrants Continues to Drop Although at Slower Than Expected Rate

R H

Source: ACSOL The Tiered Registry Law was passed by the California state legislature and signed into law by the Governor in 2017.  That law became effective more than four years later in January 2021.  An integral part of the Tiered Registry Law is the ability of some, but not all, registrants to petition for removal from the registry starting on July 1, 2022. According to a report made today by the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) during a monthly meeting of the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB), the…

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FL: Florida sex-offender registry challenge rejected

R H

Source: cbsnews.com 9/14/22 TALLAHASSEE – In at least the third similar case filed by out-of-state residents, a federal appeals court Wednesday rejected an Oklahoma man’s constitutional challenge to being kept on a Florida sex offender registry. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by Douglas Lindsey, who was convicted in 1999 of statutory rape, sodomy, and lewd molestation in Oklahoma and was required to register in Oklahoma as a sex offender.  In 2009, he successfully requested to be removed from the Oklahoma registry. Lindsey moved to…

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CA: 140+ arrested in massive California child sex crimes sweep

R H

Source: ktla.com 9/14/22 In a span of just seven days, law enforcement agents in California arrested 141 people in a wide-ranging crackdown on child sex predators, authorities announced Wednesday. The operation, dubbed “Protect the Innocent,” involved 64 agencies across five California counties. “The goal of Operation Protect the Innocent was to conduct investigations and arrests by utilizing (CyberTips) received, identifying suspects for arrest, and contacting individuals on probation and/or parole,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release. From Sept. 6 through Sept. 12, members of the L.A.…

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