From the bench this week, a federal judge unafraid of offering blunt opinions suggested anyone who produces child pornography should be shot. An exact quote of what Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar said Tuesday during a case involving the collection of child porn was not available, but in an interview Thursday, the octogenarian reiterated the comment multiple times. “I said it. I said that they should be shot,” said Doumar, whom President Ronald Reagan nominated to the bench more than 35 years ago. Full Article
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Canada: Justin Trudeau accuses Conservatives of crass political games over sex-offender registry demands
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the safety of children is a priority, but he won’t say whether his government will move ahead with a public registry for high-risk child sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreCanada: Polygraph for pedophiles – how virtual reality is used to assess sex offenders
In a maximum security mental health facility in Montreal is a “cave-like” virtual reality vault that’s used to show images of child sexual abuse to sex offenders. Patients sit inside the vault with devices placed around their penises to measure signs of arousal as they are shown computer-generated animations of naked children. Full Article
Read MoreATSA Position Statement re. HR 1761
The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) makes the following statement regarding the May 25, 2017, passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of HR 1761, the Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act of 2017: We applaud the intent of this bill to strengthen statutes prohibiting the production and distribution of child pornography. Child sexual abuse is a horrific crime that can cause long-term trauma and harm to those who are abused. Unfortunately, this bill, as passed, creates the unintended consequence of criminalizing all transmissions of sexual images of minors. This…
Read MoreStatewide Survey–Occupational Licensing Boards & Criminal Records
Root & Rebound is taking the first step in trying to connect and coordinate statewide efforts to reduce Occupational Licensing Bans and Barriers based on a candidate’s criminal record, and are asking for 15 minutes of your time to tell us about any work you are involved in through this survey: CA Criminal Records & Occupational Licensing Advocacy & Representation Coordinating Statewide Efforts This will help us to understand what is happening in the current landscape and where our efforts and statewide coordination are needed and not needed (just as…
Read MoreAt $75,560, housing a prisoner in California now costs more than a year at Harvard
The price for each inmate has doubled since 2005, even as court orders related to overcrowding have reduced the population by about one-quarter. Salaries and benefits for prison guards and medical providers drove much of the increase. The result is a per-inmate cost that is the nation’s highest — and $2,000 above tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses to attend Harvard. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments June 2017
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of June 2017. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreLiving with 290: Annual update question
I did my annual update today in San Bernardino County. I have owned the same home for 3 years. Unfortunately the utility bills are all in my wife’s name. I have been following these posts and receive email updates but this is my first post. The last 2 years the Victorville Police Dept has required a utility bill and a letter from my wife stating I live with her. I have read the PC 290.015 code and presented them today with one of my bank statements. After asking them to…
Read MoreNJ: Sex Offender Cannot Use Mistaken Age Defense
A former Cape May business owner who claimed a 13-year-old boy, with whom he had a sexual encounter, lied about his age cannot use that as a defense at trial, Appellate Court judges decided May 31. Full Article Related http://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-unpublished/2017/a0741-15.html Grindr not liable for man’s sex encounter with minor, federal judge rules
Read MoreOK: Two suspects identified in homicide of inmate at Oklahoma County jail
An inmate at the Oklahoma County jail who died in early February was the victim of a homicide, the first at the troubled facility in almost three years, an autopsy report shows. Two suspects already have been identified and are in custody, authorities said. … Windle had served time in prison for a 2003 attempted rape and indecent exposure. He was jailed in September after telling police he had been living in a Del City park since April 2014 and sleeping underneath a bridge. He was awaiting trial on two…
Read MoreCosby Trial Puts U.S. States’ Sex-Crime Prosecution Laws in Focus
The opening of Bill Cosby’s sex assault trial on Monday highlights a quirk of the U.S. legal system, in which standards vary widely from state to state on how much time prosecutors have to file criminal charges after an alleged assault. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Supreme Court asked to review McLean County sex offender issue
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to review a case against a Normal man to determine the constitutionality of Illinois’ rules mandating that sex offenders report all their internet activity to authorities. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Starting over – Task force examining sex offender laws
At the end of June, ____ ____ will mark the 20th anniversary of two life-changing milestones: the year he was convicted at 21 of sexually abusing a teenage girl, and two decades without an arrest for another sex offense. ____ spent 60 days in jail and served two years’ probation for aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 1997. His identity also was included on a statewide sex offender registry for 10 years. Removal from the registry made it easier for ____ to start over in the community. But in November 2011,…
Read MoreOverhaul of sexual offender registry is on right track
Once in a while, politicians in Sacramento get things right. The overhaul of the state’s sex offender registry proposed by Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Joel Anderson, R-San Diego, is one of those rare occurrences of a bipartisan solutions that works. Full Article
Read MoreIN: Man Exonerated After Serving More Than 25 Years for a Rape DNA Testing Proves He Didn’t Commit
A judge today granted a motion by the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office to dismiss the 1992 rape charges against William Barnhouse based on new DNA evidence proving Barnhouse’s innocence of the crime. With Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Arnold’s consent, the Innocence Project and the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at Indiana University McKinney persuaded a Delaware County court to reverse Barnhouse’s conviction on March 8, 2017 based on this new evidence. Further proceedings in the case were scheduled for May. Arnold’s decision to dismiss the indictment against Barnhouse, who has dealt…
Read MoreCanada: Officials advise Goodale to rethink plan of public sex offender database
Federal officials have advised Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to put the brakes on setting up a publicly accessible database of high-risk child sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: It Was a Miracle!
On the floor of the Senate yesterday, the Senate passed the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421). It was a miracle! It was the first time, after three unsuccessful attempts, that a legislative body approved a tiered registry bill. The miracle maker is the bill’s author, Senator Scott Wiener, who assumed authorship of the bill after its original author withdrew. It is Senator Wiener who saw and spoke the truth about the registry….how it is broken and bloated….so bloated that is has become useless. It is Senator Wiener who gathered the support…
Read MoreIs it Good Policy to Regulate the Passports of Sex Offenders?
The days of overseas travel may soon be over for Australia’s convicted child sex offenders. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she planned to introduce legislation that would cancel the passports of about 20,000 people on the national child sex offender register. The new legislation will “make Australia a world leader in protecting vulnerable children from child sex tourism,” according to the foreign minister’s office. Full article
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