Jefferson County District Attorney Bob Wortham has a message for unregistered sex offenders looking for a place to hide: stay away from Southeast Texas. “I really think sexual predators should find somewhere else to go,” Wortham said, adding that unregistered sex offenders in Jefferson County would be prosecuted for failing to register and for failing to change their address within seven days of moving. They face third-degree felony charges and punishment ranging from two to 10 years behind bars. Full Article
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NJ: Tracking Sex Offender With GPS Bracelet Violates Constitution (Supreme Court)
Approximately two-thirds of all ex-prisoners are arrested within three years of their release. With a statistic like that, the risk of sexual predators reoffending is particularly concerning. However, strapping criminals who have served their time with a GPS is not a solution, according to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Full Article
Read MoreOverextending the definition of sexual assault is also harmful (Opinion)
We are going to need some new words. As allegations of sexual misconduct continue to flood our mass media, the term “sexual misconduct” won’t suffice. Neither will “sexual assault” or “harassment.” “Misconduct” is a handy catchall when we are not sure which actions under discussion are criminal and which are merely disgusting, but the legal terms of assault and harassment are surprisingly and unhelpfully broad. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreCongressman Smith vs. the activists
GOP CONGRESSMAN CHRIS SMITH HAS REBUFFED ACTIVISTS ABOUT HIS ANTI-ABORTION STANCE AND OBAMACARE REPEAL SINCE THE NOVEMBER ELECTION Full Article
Read MoreOver 23 years later, Megan’s Law is still expanding, this time worldwide (Opinion)
It’s hard to believe it’s been 23 years since the death of Megan Kanka, the Hamilton 7-year-old who was raped and murdered by a twice-convicted sex offender. It is, without question, the most heinous and brutal crime in modern Mercer County history. It’s something no one who lives around here will ever forget. Full Article
Read MoreSmith’s Law Results in Important New Protections for Children Against Predators
A new passport identifier for convicted pedophiles will help protect children from pedophiles looking to travel abroad, possibly to abuse children, said Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), author of legislation to create the identifier. “Child predators thrive on secrecy—a secrecy that allows them to commit heinous crimes against the weakest and most vulnerable,” Smith stated at a press conference on Friday in Trenton, N.J., about the passport protections included in his International Megan’s Law, which had several other provisions aimed at protecting children. “We know from law enforcement and media documentation…
Read MorePA: This Vermont program might reduce sex offender recidivism. Could it work in Philly?
Counting down his last days in prison, Greg thought about his daughter, and the grandson he’d never met. But his first days of freedom in Summer 2016 yielded more loss than gain. His fresh start was spoiled when Greg’s face appeared on the local television news. There were anticipatory town meetings, preceded by the police of his small Vermont town stepping up patrols, just for him. Within a couple months, Greg was asked to leave his stepfather’s house, before he ended up at a homeless shelter. Full Article
Read MoreCA: City Council repeals sex offender residency ordinance
Facing the threat of another costly lawsuit the Highland City Council voted 3-2 to repeal a city ordinance prohibiting registered sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet of schools, parks and other locations identified for children’s use, Nov. 14. Full Article
Read MoreKY: Children’s Advocacy Center Of The Bluegrass To Receive Funds Resulting From Federal Government’s Forfeiture And Sale Of Residence Owned By Two Men Convicted Of Child Abuse
The United States Attorney’s Office, the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the FBI, the Fayette Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, the Lexington Police Department, and the Children’s Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass (CAC) jointly announced today that a portion of proceeds from the sale of the Lexington residence owned by two men convicted of child abuse will be shared with the CAC. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Tulare County men arrested during sex offender compliance check
Two Tulare County men were arrested after they failed to provide information during a sex offender compliance check on Friday. Full Article
Read MoreWhen Does a Watershed Become a Sex Panic?
The policing of sex can blur the boundaries between rape; nonviolent sexual coercion; and bad, fumbling, drunken sex. The effect is both to criminalize bad sex and trivialize rape. Full Article
Read MoreMI: Sex offenders settle lawsuit over living in ‘school zones’
Three Grand Rapids men on Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry have settled a federal lawsuit against the state over housing requirements that restrict where they can live. Full Article
Read MoreUnderstanding sex offenders: the untold story
I’ve made people’s stories my life’s work. I’m a person who talks to people sitting next to me on airplanes. I engage people at grocery stores, and even while sitting in those flimsy robes in the hospital, waiting for a mammogram. I generally like people. And I constantly “interview” them, even when I’m not working. I consider myself open-minded. I’d rather ask questions than answer. I try not to judge. But one fall day last year, a random call to the newsroom caught me off guard: A co-worker shouted across…
Read MorePA: Updates to Sex Offender Registration Law in Pa. Proposed
A member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives said his proposed legislation will adapt the Adam Walsh Act to prevent retroactive application of the law and still require sex offenders to continue registration as sex offenders to the Pennsylvania State Police. Full Article
Read MorePA: Registered sex offenders resign from fire departments after ABC27 investigation
ABC27 Investigator Kendra Nichols found two local fire departments with registered sex offenders, Londonderry Fire Company near Middletown and Citizens Fire Company of Highspire. At the time of the investigation, both registered sex offenders had the fire department addresses listed on the Megan’s Law website as places of employment. ABC27 told the Londonderry Fire Company the results of the search and it took action. Full Article
Read MoreGA: Can’t pay for a lie detector test? For one man that could mean jail
A North Georgia homeless man may go to prison for 18 months because he cannot come up with $250 to take a court-ordered polygraph test. Such a move would seem to violate a U.S. Supreme Court ruling declaring it unconstitutional to jail someone for failing to pay a fee or fine. But the man’s attorney, McCracken Poston, said the state Department Community of Supervision is nonetheless pushing for the punishment. “It’s crazy,” Poston told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saying his client, Robert Murphy, has been unable to find a job since…
Read MoreKS: Kansas Supreme Court divided over offender registration law
The Kansas Supreme Court is divided over whether a law requiring criminal offenders to register with local authorities after prison represents extra punishment. A 4-3 majority has concluded that registration for sex, drug and violent offenders is not extra punishment. Its latest decision came Thursday in the appeal of Djuan Richardson. He was convicted of selling cocaine in Sedgwick County in 2003 and pleaded guilty to violating the offender registration law in 2011. He later sought unsuccessfully to withdraw that plea. Full Article Related https://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?n=107,786%20&s=KS&d=107522
Read MoreCA: Family Law Clinic for People with Records
We (Root & Rebound) are excited to announce our first-ever Family Law Clinic for people with criminal records. We will be offering one-on-one appointments with our reentry attorneys for any person with a criminal record who needs help with issues related to family law. Date: December 2, 2017 Time: 10 am – 4 pm Location: 1730 Franklin St., Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94612 At this clinic, get help with family law issues like: Understanding your rights in family court, probate court, or dependency court as a person with a criminal…
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