The Supreme Judicial Court today ruled that lifetime parole for sex offenders violates the state’s constitution, The Boston Globe reports. In a 6-1 decision where Justice Robert Cordy was the dissenter on some issues, the state’s highest court said judges alone have the power to sentence people. The state law that created “community parole supervision for life” for sex offenders unconstitutionally gives the Parole Board that same power. Full Article
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City being sued by registered sex offender
The City of Taft is being sued by a registered sex offender. The suit was filed May 29 in federal court and alleges an ordinance passed in 2007 designed to keep sex offenders away from areas where children are likely to congregate is unconstitutional. Full Article
Read MoreWhy single out sex offenders? Drug dealers, drunken drivers live among us
Letter to the Editor – This is in response to the uproar of a registered sex offender living in Allouez: I would rather know if a convicted drug dealer, wife beater or, for that matter, a person convicted of having DUIs lived next to me. They are not monitored such as a registered sex offender and therefore are not under as much scrutiny as the mentioned offender. Full Letter
Read MoreTransient sex offenders proving difficult to monitor
Law enforcement in Kern County is finding it increasingly difficult to keep track of registered sex offenders. A growing number of them are joining the ranks of the homeless and are listed as transients. “When you have a sex offender who is a transient, you don’t know where they are,” said Kern County sheriff’s Detective Randall Meyer with the Sexual Abuse and Assault Investigative Unit. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Christie signs Jessica Lunsford Act into law
TRENTON – Sex offenders will now face tougher prison sentences thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie Monday. The Jessica Lunsford Act, named after a 13-year-old who was raped and murdered in 2005, means anyone who is convicted of abusing a child younger than 13 will go to prison for 25 years without parole. Full Article
Read MoreSC: Jindal attacks Sheheen for defending sex offender
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal criticized Gov. Nikki Haley’s opponent on Friday during a South Carolina appearance, taking issue with him for serving as defense attorney for a sex offender. Jindal said South Carolina voters have a clear choice for governor this year. The first, he said is his friend, Haley, whom he characterized as the successful governor of a state with the fastest growing economy on the east coast. “On the other side they have a trial attorney who has made money from defending those who were convicted…
Read MoreMore college men are fighting back against sexual misconduct cases
____ ____, ____ ____ and ____ ____ were headed toward bright futures at prestigious colleges and universities when each got involved in one-night sexual encounters. All three young men claimed the encounters were consensual — but the women asserted otherwise. In each case, campus officials found the men responsible for sexual assault and expelled or suspended them. But all three are pushing back, suing the schools on charges that their rights to a fair hearing were violated. Full Article
Read MorePA: Change in sex offender law leads to appeals
In September 2011, ____ ____, then 26, was arrested for having a relationship with a 15-year-old girl. … Six months later, he agreed to plead no contest to misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and corruption of minors, while the prosecution dropped felony statutory sexual assault. … Nowhere in the agreement or at his March 5, 2012, plea hearing was there ever any mention of having to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. … So months later, when Mr. ____ was notified by the Pennsylvania State Police to comply with the new…
Read MoreFL: Loopholes cast doubt on effectiveness of sex offender laws in Volusia cities
PORT ORANGE — Registered sex offender ____ ____ ____ lives 2,112 feet from Spruce Creek Elementary School. He and other offenders who have served their sentences have been the targets in recent months of politicians including the Port Orange City Council who have enacted new regulations in the name of safety. Port Orange expanded its requirement for sex offenders to live further than 2,500 feet from schools, day-care centers and playgrounds, while in March Gov. Rick Scott signed a package of bills tightening penalties and prison sentences for sex offenders and…
Read More57 Convicted Sex Offenders Arrested In Southland ICE Operation
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested 57 foreign nationals with prior convictions for sex offenses during a three-day operation targeting criminal alien sex offenders in the Los Angeles area, authorities announced Friday. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Police – Sex abuse allegation led to Fostoria fire
FOSTORIA, Ohio (AP) — One of the suspects charged in a house fire that killed two people who were hearing impaired acted out of revenge after accusing the home’s owner of sexually abusing a child, a detective said in court. Three people have been charged in connection with the fire on May 26 that was ruled arson. Full Article
Read MoreSanta Ana, Mission Viejo, Galt Repeal Sex Offender Ordinances
Three more cities took action this week toward the repeal of their sex offender ordinances. Mission Viejo led the group during its City Council meeting on June 2 while Santa Ana and Galt followed that lead on June 3. “California RSOL commends these three cities for beginning the repeal of ordinances which prohibited registered citizens from visiting public and private places such as parks, libraries and restaurants,” stated California RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “They join a growing number of cities that have eliminated similar laws that violate the state and…
Read MorePhilippine Bureau of Immigration bans alien sex offenders in the country
MANILA, June 5 (PNA) — Foreign nationals who are registered sex offenders in other countries are barred from entering the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Thursday. In an order, Commissioner Siegfred Mison said aliens whose names are found in the registry of sex offenders as may be provided by a foreign embassy will be issued an order to leave since they pose a threat to public safety. Full Article
Read MoreNH: House committee passes bill prohibiting restrictions on where sex offenders can live
A House committee easily passed a bill, 18-1, prohibiting restrictions on where sex offenders can live yesterday, noting that judges have twice ruled residency restrictions unconstitutional. Still, lawmakers predicted a tough fight in the Senate, which has rejected similar bills before. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Sex registry law needs overhaul
In 2007, the Oklahoma State Legislature approved a new law that required all sex offenders be classified under a three-tier system that placed offenders in a specific category depending on the nature of the sex crime. However, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC) went a step further and made the new registration law retroactive to 1998. However, in June 2013, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled the retroactive application of the rule was unconstitutional. Full Article
Read MoreIA: New HIV law to remove stigma of registered sex offender
Changes to Iowa’s HIV criminal transmission law won’t change ____ ____’ felony conviction but it does mean he will no longer bear the stigma of registering as a sex offender. ____ has fought his conviction in court and pushed for reform of the state’s HIV criminal transmission law. He still is waiting on a decision about his case by the Iowa Supreme Court. Full Article
Read MoreTN: Man spent 11 years in prison for rape he didn’t commit
NASHVILLE — ____ ____ didn’t rape that 12-year-old girl in March 1999. It’s a truth he bore for 11 years and three months in a Tennessee prison cell. Few believed him until DNA evidence in 2008 proved he didn’t sexually assault a preteen neighbor. Three more years passed before he was released from prison — and even then he still faced being tried on the charges all over again. But April 4, in light of the DNA evidence and a wavering victim, prosecutors in Marshall County finally dropped all charges. Full Article
Read MoreMA: Most sex convicts do not win release
Despite the release of a convicted sex offender who is now accused of raping and beating a woman at knifepoint Sunday, state courts are much more likely than not to keep convicted sex offenders locked up indefinitely after they finish their prison sentences. Between 2010 and 2012, juries and judges sent 57 of the 83 convicts who sought release back to detention, even though their sentences were up, according to statistics kept by the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association. Full Article
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