According to a report from the Ministry of Justice, the number of jailed registered sex offenders in England and Wales rose 82 percent from 2007–2017. As the number of sex offenders continues to rise, maintaining a unified and accurate sex offender registry is an important issue to many residents. The largest sex offender registry network in the United States, OffenderWatch, recently announced a new international division devoted to helping countries across the globe maintain a sex offender registry database that is easily shared between law enforcement agencies and can help…
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NV: Changes to sex offender registration system now in effect
Significant changes to Nevada’s sex offender registration system are in effect. Assembly Bill 579 (AB 579) aligns Nevada sex offender registration laws with the federal requirements of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. While enacted in 2007, AB 579 has been on hold pending the outcome of litigation to stop implementation. On April 27, 2018, the Nevada Supreme Court denied further delay to implementation and authorized AB 579 to take effect. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Legislation forbids bus stops near sex offender homes
To protect the safety of young children, the New York State Senate has passed legislation prohibiting the placement of school bus stops in front of the home of registered sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreIN: Bill that prevents sex offenders from living near victims signed by governor
INDIANAPOLIS – A bill authored by State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, that prevents sex offenders from living near victims was ceremonially signed into law Monday by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Senate Enrolled Act 12 makes it unlawful for a sex offender to intentionally establish residence within one mile of their victim. Although this is current law for victims who are minors, SEA 12 extends the protection to all victims regardless of age. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Sex offender who sued West St. Paul to get $84K in settlement
A sex offender who sued West St. Paul over its 2016 ordinance that restricted where he could live will receive $84,000 as part of a settlement agreement approved by a federal judge Monday. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Registrant on Parole Challenges Social Media Ban
A lawsuit was filed today in federal court on behalf of a registrant who is on parole in order to challenge a parole condition that prohibits him from accessing all social media. Defendants in the case include the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the Secretary of CDCR and his parole officer. “Many registrants on parole are unlawfully being denied access to social media,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have determined that similar denials violate the First Amendment.” The plaintiff in…
Read MorePA: We must strengthen laws involving sexual predators: Tom Mehaffie
As precious members of our society, our children and grandchildren are the future of our country with the promise of a bright future. Unfortunately, there are adults within our population who prey upon them with sick intent regardless of the harm they inflict or the lifelong effects. To assist parents in the responsibility of raising their children, Pennsylvania has maintained a law on its books since 1996 to target those who harm kids. Megan’s Law, named after a young girl who was brutally raped and murdered in New Jersey in…
Read MoreMI: Treatment of sex offenders depends on whether they’ve challenged rules
Eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively upheld a decision saying parts of Michigan’s sex offender registry law — one of the toughest in the nation — were unconstitutional, thousands of former sex offenders who thought they’d be off the registry by now, or facing less severe restrictions, have seen no changes. Full Article
Read MoreNV: Giunchigliani responds to criticism over sex offender reporting bill as ‘untrue’ and ‘offensive’ in new ad
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Giunchigliani is calling an attack over her involvement in exempting teachers from a sex offender reporting bill while she was an assemblywoman “untrue” and “offensive” in a new ad released today. In the 30-second spot, Giunchigliani shares that she was sexually abused for over a year as a child and that her sister was kidnapped, held in a trailer and raped for three days. She also highlights five pieces of legislation she helped pass as an assemblywoman to increase penalties for sexual predators, make information concerning…
Read MoreCO: Hickenlooper vetoes bill to reduce conflicts of interests on Colorado’s sex-offender management board
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday vetoed legislation that would have barred members of the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board from being able to profit from multi-million-dollar state contracts related to their work. Full Article Related Colorado governor vetoes bill that banned conflicts of interest on sex offender management board
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Voting Rights Act for Registrants May Be Required
Today is election day. Today California voters will cast their ballots in a primary election that determines the nomination of candidates for offices from Insurance Commissioner to U.S. Senator as well as the outcome of several ballot propositions. Because it is a mid-term election, the percentage of people expected to vote is low, perhaps as low as 30 percent. Missing from the number of people who vote today, however, may be many registrants, some of whom have been misinformed and told that they are not eligible to vote. For example,…
Read MoreOK: Today, They Stamped “Sex Offender” on My Driver’s License
I’d been dreading this day for months – the final day before my Oklahoma state driver’s license expired. Recently, my state had passed legislation requiring that the licenses of those convicted of aggravated sex offenses be marked “Sex Offender” in bold capital red letters in two different locations on the front of the card. Red letter days are supposed to be joyful occasions, but not so much in this case. I certainly wasn’t going to submit to this particular humiliation by renewing my license any earlier than necessary, so I…
Read MoreAUS: Do public sex offender registries work? ‘Surprise’ findings in Australian study
Public sex offender registries designed to shutdown pedophiles and rapists will not stop recidivism, while a searchable database could see house prices in some neighbourhoods drop by up to 8 percent, claims a new report. Full Article
Read MoreMO: Sex Offender Registry Bill Not Signed by Former Gov. Greitens
Out of the 77 bills that Gov. Greitens signed into law on Friday, there’s one pertaining to the sex offender registry that didn’t make the cut. It’s an amendment to a bill that would allow less serious sex offenders to be removed from the registry. Full Article
Read MoreNH: Critics call for change to outdated computer sex crime law
[UPDATED LINKS 6/4/18] When he was 18 years old, ____ ____ propositioned a 15-year-old he knew for sex. Had the two teenagers actually engaged in consensual sex, ____’s crime would have been a Class A misdemeanor with no requirement that he register as a sex offender. They didn’t have sex, but because _____, of Nottingham, used a computer or the internet to make the request, he was charged and ultimately found guilty of a felony that will ensure he is on the registry for life. Full Article State Supreme Court…
Read MoreSex Offender Registries: Common Sense or Nonsense?
In October 1989, 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped at gunpoint and never seen again. When the boy’s mother, Patty Wetterling, learned that her home state of Minnesota did not have a database of possible suspects—notably convicted sex offenders—she set out to make a change. Wetterling’s efforts led to the passage of the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, which was signed into federal law by President Bill Clinton in 1994. Jacob’s Law was the first effort to establish a nationwide registry of convicted sex offenders,…
Read MoreChallenging the Punitiveness of ‘New-Generation’ SORN Laws (Paper)
Sex offender registration and notification (SORN) laws have been in effect nationwide since the 1990s, and publicly available registries today contain information on hundreds of thousands of individuals. To date, most courts, including the Supreme Court in 2003, have concluded that the laws are regulatory, not punitive, in nature, allowing them to be applied retroactively consistent with the Ex Post Facto Clause. Recently, however, several state supreme courts, as well as the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, addressing challenges lodged against new-generation SORN laws of a considerably more onerous and…
Read MoreCA: Superior Court Judges Limits Residency Restrictions to Parolees
A California Superior Court judge has ruled that residency restrictions may only be applied to registrants while they are on parole. This ruling, issued in Norwalk Superior Court yesterday, is consistent with a ruling made by a federal judge in late 2017. “These court decisions are important because they clarify that cities may not impose residency restrictions against registrants who are not on parole,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “In addition to limiting the application of residency restrictions to parolees, we are also claiming that the restrictions violate the…
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