The slayings of Reagan Tokes and Alianna DeFreeze had much in common. Both were abducted, raped and killed in Ohio in 2017. Tokes was a 21-year-old college student, DeFreeze a 14-year-old seventh grader. Both their killers, previously convicted sex offenders, were subsequently found guilty. Yet only one victim got a law with her name on it — Tokes, who was white. That disparity in so-called namesake laws represents a national trend: White crime victims are much more likely to get crime bills named after them than black victims. Full Article
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MN: Is Minnesota’s Sex Offender Registry Helping or Hurting?
Minnesota’s Predatory Offender Registry was first passed in 1991. It was intended to assist law enforcement in quickly locating and clearing suspects in child predator and kidnapping cases. 28 years later, the registry covers 21,000+ individuals and requires registration for many more crimes, including “crimes against the person” — 27 of them. It costs over $1m to implement every year. Stacy Bettison recently published an article in Minnesota Bench and Bar entitled “The New Scarlet Letter – Is Minnesota’s Predatory Offender Registry Hurting or Hurting?” Bettison has a strong interest…
Read MoreTinder Lets Known Sex Offenders Use the App. It’s Not the Only One.
Match Group, which owns most major online dating services, screens for sexual predators on Match — but not on Tinder, OkCupid or PlentyofFish. A spokesperson said, “There are definitely registered sex offenders on our free products.” Full Article
Read MorePA: Attorney General – Cases could jeopardize Megan’s Law sex offenders registry
Survivors of sexual assault have shared with me their struggles in overcoming the traumatic harm caused by those who’ve preyed upon them. Their strength and courage inspires and drives me every day to pursue allegations of sexual abuse wherever we find it. In 1994, 7-year-old Megan Kanka was raped and murdered by her neighbor — someone her parents did not know had two prior convictions for sexually assaulting young girls. Her death and memory made a profound impact on our nation and resulted in “Megan’s Law.” Through Megan’s Law, survivors…
Read MoreGeneral Comments December 2019
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreMD: The Absurdity Of Charging 10-Year-Olds As Sex Offenders
A ten-year boy has just been charged as a sex offender as a result of a schoolyard game of tag that got out of control. As reported by the local CBS news affiliate: “the fourth-grade students were playing a game of tag that escalated when a boy began making inappropriate comments and movements toward the girls. One of the boys also wrapped his arms around one of the girls.” Full Article Related https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/11/22/10-year-old-boy-charged-sex-offense-marbury-maryland-school/
Read MoreNY: Pushed Out and Locked In – The Catch-22 for Disabled, Homeless, Sex-Offender Registrants
Across New York, people are incarcerated for weeks, months, and even years after their prison release dates. These individuals are not confined for violating prison disciplinary rules or committing new crimes. New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) detains them, instead, because they are homeless. DOCCS refuses to release prisoners to community supervision without an approved address. But for prisoners required to register as “sex offenders,” finding housing means navigating a web of restrictions that are levied exclusively on people convicted of sex crimes and that dramatically constrain…
Read MoreRI: Lawmaker hopes to expand Megan’s Law to include crimes that predate it
One local lawmaker is pushing for sexual predators found guilty of crimes decades ago to be treated the same way as those convicted more recently. The push comes after convicted child molester ____ ____ moved to Cranston at the beginning of the month. Since his crime pre-dates Megan’s Law, which led to the creation of the sex offender registry, residents weren’t notified of his arrival or address. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade uproots sex offender camp yet again. Does harsh law really make public safer?
The latest eviction order came earlier this month: Some 70 paroled child sex offenders, now living in a flimsy village of tents, cardboard boxes and rusty campers in an industrial zone just east of Miami International Airport, were told they had to find a new home — yet again. Full Article
Read MorePA: Sex offender removed from the hospital during the birth of his child
Many of the stories we bring you on a daily basis here at WPXI are clear cut. They’re right or wrong. But this one had us here in the newsroom debating and even questioning ourselves. It’s one of those rare instances where you see both sides. Ken Moore is a registered sex offender but never thought that would keep him from seeing the birth of his third child. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Illinois Supreme Court strikes down social media ban for sex offenders
Illinois’ highest court ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to ban convicted sex offenders from social media sites. Conrad Allen Morger was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and sentenced to four years of probation by a court in McLean County. That came with a binding condition he not use specific internet sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. During oral arguments, held in September in Godfrey, Morger’s representative said the ban is a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment fundamental right to freedom of speech. Full Article…
Read MoreOK: New sex offender reporting law in effect
As of November 1, sex offenders residing with a minor child must now report to the statewide centralized Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) hotline. Previously, only the parent, stepparent or grandparent of a minor had to report to the hotline. Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, authored the bill at the request of DHS to better protect all of Oklahoma’s children. Full Article
Read MoreICE HSI opens Angel Watch Center to combat child sex tourism, announces FY19 child exploitation investigative results
On Thursday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at HSI’s new Angel Watch Center (AWC) in Fairfax, Virginia. As part of the ceremony, ICE Acting Director Matthew Albence explained that HSI special agents initiated more than 4,200 child exploitation cases in fiscal year 2019, resulting in approximately 3,771 criminal arrests, an increase of 18 percent compared to fiscal year 2018. … “If only a fraction of notifications to foreign countries save a child from having to carry the lasting scars of sexual…
Read MoreData shows upswing in child exploitation cases
Homeland Security investigators who uncover child exploitation initiated more than 4,000 cases around the world in the 2019 budget year, resulting in thousands of arrests and the identification of more than 1,000 victims, according to new data obtained by The Associated Press. … On Thursday, officials plan to unveil a new center based at ICE’s Washington headquarters tasked with alerting other countries when U.S. sex offenders are traveling there. The new center will include representatives from the U.S. Marshals office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Registrants Challenge Jury Pool Exclusion
Five registrants have filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court challenging a new state law that allows all felons, except those convicted of a sex offense, to serve as jurors. According to the lawsuit, the new law violates the equal protection clause of the state’s constitution. The new law, which began as Senate Bill 310, did not initially exclude registrants from jury service. That version of the bill passed the Senate, however, the bill was later amended to exclude registrants in the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee. “There is absolutely no…
Read MoreLA: Man removed ‘sex offender’ from his ID, and a judge dismissed the case. Why?
When a Lafayette Parish man removed the words “sex offender” from his state-issued ID, law enforcement officers said Louisiana law had been broken. A local judge saw things differently. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments November 2019
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of November 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreNM: Sex offenders suing New Mexico sheriffs, DPS
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – More than a half dozen sex offenders who committed their crimes in other states say they’re being treated unfairly in New Mexico. Now, eight out-of-state sex offenders now living in New Mexico, calling themselves John Does, are suing the Department of Public Safety and various sheriffs to get their fair shot at a hearing. Full Article
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