A new University of New Hampshire study challenges the view that online predators are a distinctly dangerous variety of sex offender, requiring special programs to protect youth. The study from the UNH Crimes against Children Research Center finds that sex offenders who target teens increasingly use Internet and cell phone communications to lure teens into sexual relationships. In crimes that involve such communications, offenders who meet and recruit youth online operate in much the same way as offenders who meet and know youth in ordinary offline environments. Full Article
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OH: You & The Law “Sex Offender Laws”
Host Mike Monta gives you an inside look at Montgomery County’s “Sex Offender Laws” and how they impact you. (Link sent via this web site) [hana-flv-player video=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkGKtGORA3c” width=”200″ description=”” player=”5″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” clickurl=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkGKtGORA3c” /] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkGKtGORA3c
Read MoreSex Offender Registries: Fear without Function? A Study
Abstract: I use three separate data sets and designs to determine whether sex offender registries are effective. First, I use state-level panel data to determine whether sex offender registries and public access to them decrease the rate of rape and other sexual abuse. Second, I use a data set that contains information on the subsequent arrests of sex offenders released from prison in 1994 in 15 states to determine whether registries reduce the recidivism rate of offenders required to register compared with the recidivism of those who are not. Finally, I…
Read MoreCA RSOL Letter to Ed Royce, Chairman Committee on Foreign Affairs re. H.R. 2848 (Int. Megan’s Law)
Below find a copy of a letter sent by CA RSOL’s Janice Bellucci to Ed Royce, Chairman Committee on Foreign Affaris in opposition to H.R. 2848 (Int. Megan’s Law). Feel free to use this letter as a guide to compose your own letter protesting this unconstitutional portion of the bill. Full Size Letter (pdf)
Read More2011: A Quiet but Growing Judicial Rebellion Against Harsh Sentences For CP Offenses
Federal criminal sentences should be “sufficient, but not greater than necessary.” They should fit the crime, provide for “adequatedeterrence,” “protect the public,” and promote rehabilitation. Since the Supreme Court decisions in Booker and Kimbrough, federal courts again have great discretion, within certain limits, to decide appropriate federal sentences. Congress, however, has taken pains to limit that discretion with regard to child pornography offenses, and the federal courts, in a series of judicial decisions across the country, including recent Second and Third Circuit decisions, are firmly rebelling. The questions arise: Are the courts right?…
Read MoreInt’l Megan’s Law Amendment to Protect More Kids
Washington, Aug 1 – A legislative effort by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) to restrict the passports of U.S citizens who have been convicted of sex crimes against children took a leap forward today when it was unanimously approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Smith wrote an amendment which is now part of the U.S. State Department authorization bill, H.R. 2848, which is expected to be on the House floor in September. It grants the Secretary of State discretion to limit the valid duration of passports for convicted sex offenders…
Read MoreFL: Sex offenders, Pahokee congregation forge unlikely bond
PAHOKEE — The pianist at First United Methodist Church was as nervous as he’d ever been before a performance. Music comes naturally to ____ ____. So he wasn’t worried what they would think of his playing. He was worried what they thought of him. “Do they know about my past?” Had they seen the newspapers? The ones that showed his face and the words sex offender? Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments August 2013
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of August 2013. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreConceived in Failure: The Adam Walsh Act’s Dangerous Consequences to Society
This short analysis of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act of 2006 and its implementation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania seeks to explore the background, philosophical failures and statistics to justify repeal of the AWA. Additionally, there are significant policy recommendations that provide real reforms that provide enhanced community safety while not violating Constitutional principles or denying the ability for former offenders to successfully reenter society. The AWA is a dangerous, destabilizing, retroactively applied law that: … Full Article
Read MoreSC: Killing Sex Offenders – The Apparent Hypocrisy of Crew 41
Jeremy Moody, a member of a small but violent racist skinhead gang called Crew 41, shocked South Carolina authorities last week when he told them that he and his wife shot and stabbed to death a middle-aged couple July 21 because the man was a registered sex offender. But if ridding the world of sex offenders was Moody’s goal, he didn’t have to go outside of his crew to find one. The head of the gang’s Colorado chapter, ___ ___., is a registered sex offender, convicted of “accosting for immoral purposes.” Full…
Read MoreSheriff’s deputy accused of rape, soliciting bribes while on duty
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy accused of raping women and soliciting bribes while on duty is due in court Wednesday morning. ___ ___ ___ , 28, was arrested at his home Monday night without incident after a nearly three-year investigation. ___ , a seven-year department veteran, was most recently assigned to patrol duties at the Palmdale Station. Full Article
Read MoreNew girl blamed to teen bullying suicide case
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new classmate has been implicated in the death of a 15-year-old girl who committed suicide after saying three boys sexually assaulted her and circulated photos of the abuse online. Audrie Pott hanged herself in September, about a week after passing out drunk at a party at a friend’s house in Northern California. The 15-year-old said boys she had known for years took off her clothes and sexually assaulted her, including writing and drawing on intimate parts of her body and taking cellphone photos of their…
Read MoreNo Justice: Sex Offenses, No Matter How Minor or Understandable, Can Ruin You for Life
The collection of laws and restrictions that regulate people categorized as “sex offenders” has been punctuated by names such as Megan, Jessica and Adam. These are the names of children, all victims of heinous crimes that sparked high-profile campaigns aimed at creating “get tough on crime” legislation. Today you can go online to your state’s Megan’s Law website, where all convicted sex offenders are required to register, and probably find clusters of red dots on the map of your neighborhood, each dot representing an individual convicted of a sex crime.…
Read MoreOpinion: Place focus on worst sex offenders
State legislators should review laws regarding our sex offender registry in order to allow law enforcement to focus on the most dangerous. We have no empathy for those individuals who committed violent sexual acts against any adult or minor. But the requirements of sex offenders to register keeps local law enforcement officers checking up on some people who pose little risk to the public. Full Article
Read MoreSome Ankle Bracelet Alarms Go Unchecked
Three decades after they were introduced as a crime-fighting tool, electronic ankle bracelets used to track an offender’s whereabouts have proliferated so much that officials are struggling to handle an avalanche of monitoring alerts that are often nothing more sinister than a dead battery, lost satellite contact or someone arriving home late from work. Amid all that white noise, alarms are going unchecked, sometimes on defendants now accused of new crimes. Full Article
Read MoreOpinion: Sex Is Different, Under The Law
By Norm Pattis – I’ve been practicing law just long enough to know that I will never make sense of it all. It’s not that I am stupid, although my shortcomings are certainly an issue. The larger truth is that the law is irrational. It bumps, grinds and gyrates in ways that simply make no sense. This is especially true in criminal cases alleging sexual misconduct. Suppose a man is accused of rape. He is, of course, presumed innocent, but the details of his arrest are made public. In the eyes of…
Read MoreSC: In wake of murders, calls for sex offender registry to go private
GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) – At its heart, law enforcement agencies across the country say that the sex offender registry is a great resource when used. For example, when people are moving into a neighborhood, or perhaps if they have questions about a neighbor. “The sex offender registry is a tool, and it’s a tool for both law enforcement and the general public,” said Lt. Michael Hildebrand with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. “And just like every tool, when it is used properly, it’s a good thing.” But Union County deputies…
Read MoreW.A.R. Calls out Governor Nikki Haley, Nancy Grace, Dr. Drew, Anderson Cooper and Other News Media
Women Against Registry- Recently, this country has gone through months of listening to stories about George Zimmerman and the murder of a slain man and his scorned mistress, Jodi Arias . Where is the news coverage of the brutal stabbing murders of the Parkers? Why aren’t the perpetrators faces who forced their way in to Charles and Gretchen Parker’s home, not all over the air waves of ABC, NBC, MSNBC, HLN and other media networks? Women Against Registry can tell you why. The why is because the Parker’s murders were not…
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