In light of the recent arrests of two registered sex offenders in connection with four murders in Orange County, I’d like to share an article that I originally wrote a few months ago for OC Lawyer Magazine. The tragedy brings into focus the critical shortcomings of our state’s sex offender registry and the stress it puts on a criminal justice system already in crisis. As far as public policies goes, the laws regulating sex offenders are incredibly difficult to approach and reform, but we owe victims (and potential victims) a…
Read MoreCategory: California
GPS failed to stop serial killings
While GPS devices used to monitor sex offenders played an integral role in the capture of two suspected serial killers last week, early details from the case raise questions about how well the tracking data are routinely monitored. Police say the devices enabled them to trace the movements of ____ ____ ____, 45, and ____ ____, 26, and link the two men to the slayings of at least five women. But the investigation has also painted an unsettling picture of sex offender oversight: According to the police account, the pair…
Read MoreWhen sex-offender laws promote more crimes
National City has become the latest California city to face a lawsuit from a registered San Luis Obispo County sex offender over its sex-offender regulations. _____ ____, 61, of Grover Beach, contends such local ordinances are superseded by Jessica’s Law, the 2006 measure adopted by California voters. Full Article
Read MoreCITY OF REDLANDS REPEALS SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE
On April 1, 2014, The City of Redlands, California, repealed a 2011 ordinance prohibiting persons required to register pursuant to Penal Code section 290 from entering city parks without prior written permission by the City of Redlands Police Department. The City rescinded Chapter 9.14 of the Redlands Municipal Code in its entirety by way of 4-1 vote of its five-member city council. The ordinance was repealed as a result of a California Court of Appeals decision on January 10, 2014 in People v. Nguyen 222 Cal. App. 4th 1168 (2014).…
Read MoreThe Field Validity of Static-99/R Sex Offender Risk Assessment Tool in California
Policies that differentially apply to sexual offenders at different risk levels require defensible procedures for classifying offenders into risk categories. The current study examines the reliability and validity of Static-99 and Static-99R sexual offender risk assessment tools as implemented in the State of California. California is a valuable case study because it is a large jurisdiction that has devoted considerable resources to the implementation of risk tools. Paper
Read MoreNot Really, But Sort Of In Defense Of The ‘Pillowcase Rapist’ (Commentary)
Now I know that for some people, sex crimes are worse than actual murder. I know there a contingent of people who believe that rapists and sex offenders should be punished as if they committed murder, including having the death penalty on the table as option. For them sex offenders, especially those who committed crimes against children, should never see the light of day again (Hi John and Ken). I get that. What I’m about to touch on isn’t for you because I know that for you no amount of…
Read MoreDo Ex-Sex Offenders Have Civil Rights?
They are the most loathed convicts on the planet. Even other criminals hate them. Cities in recent years have targeted them with laws that limit where and when they can be certain places, particularly on Halloween, when children are out. But ex-sex offenders do have rights. At least that’s the contention of a group called California Reform Sex Offender Laws. Full Article
Read MoreCITY OF CARSON SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL COURT
A sex offender ordinance adopted by Carson, a city located within Los Angeles County, is the subject of a lawsuit filed today in Federal district court. This is the fourth lawsuit to be filed in four weeks challenging a city’s sex offender ordinance that includes restrictions regarding where more than 105,000 individuals can be present. Specifically, the Carson ordinance prohibits registered citizens from being present in or within 300 feet of a wide range of locations including schools, parks, library, swimming pools, and bus stops. A registered citizen who violates…
Read MoreDo sex offender registries, like new ‘OffenderWatch,’ make us safer? (Op-Ed)
Today the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office announced it was launching “OffenderWatch,” a brand-new way to be scared of your neighbors. … I have a few questions: Why? And what, exactly, are you to do with this information? Do you commit these names and faces to memory? What are you supposed to do when you meet one of these guys on the street? Do you instruct your kids to stay away from these homes? Are we supposed to keep an eye on them in some way? Should we organize patrols…
Read MoreSex offender wants parks proximity (National City)
A registered sex offender in San Luis Obispo County is suing cities across the state, claiming he has every right to go near schools and parks — and National City has become his latest target. ____ ____, 61, of Grover Beach, was convicted in 1979 of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. His attorney, Janice Bellucci, says he has relatives in National City and wants to visit. She sued the city in federal court last week over its ban on sex offenders being within 300 feet of a…
Read MoreA Better Path to Community Safety (CASOMB Tiering Paper March 2014)
CASOMB first recommended in its 2010 report to the Legislature that revisions to California’s registration laws are needed and recently selected the issue as one which deserves increased focus and effort. The effectiveness of sex offender registration policies and practices has also been the subject of national focus recently, with a variety of jurisdictions addressing the importance of updating registration practices to reflect new research and evidence based approaches. Modifying registration practices will, CASOMB believes, improve public safety in California by focusing effort and resources on more dangerous offenders. Paper
Read MoreSB 1027 (Hill) – Criminal record information: commercial use
Existing law requires a business to take reasonable steps to protect unintended disclosure of customer information and limits theway personal information on customers can be used and disseminated. This bill would prohibit a person who publishes criminal record information, as defined, via print or electronic means from soliciting or accepting a fee or other consideration to remove, correct, or modify that information, as specified. The bill would establish civil penalties for violations of these provisions. Bill Information
Read MoreNATIONAL CITY ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL COURT
A sex offender ordinance adopted by National City, a city in San Diego County, is the subject of a lawsuit filed on April 4 in federal district court on behalf of a registered sex offender (“registered citizen”). This is the third lawsuit challenging a city’s presence restrictions. The first lawsuit was filed on March 24 against the City of Pomona and the second lawsuit on March 31 against the City of South Lake Tahoe. The National City ordinance includes restrictions regarding where more than 105,000 individuals can reside or be…
Read MoreCounty Launches New Sex Offender Registration, Tracking Site Available to Public
San Mateo County will now be part of a nationwide network of over 5,000 law enforcement agencies, including over 45 California agencies. Full Article
Read MoreRecently identified Fresno sex offender murdered
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — Days after a Fresno man was identified as a sex offender, he turned up dead. Now, two people will stand trial for his murder. ____ ____ was stabbed to death in Sept. 2012, just days after a sex offender sweep. An autopsy showed ____ was stabbed 58 times before his body was dumped near Chandler Airport. When U.S. Marshals and local police went door-to-door tracking sex offenders, ____ ____ was right where they expected him. The sting apparently blew his cover, though, and made him a target. Full Article
Read MoreLA Deputies Demanded Sex From Female Trainees: Lawsuit
A group of tattooed male deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who called themselves the “Banditos” allegedly sexually harassed female trainees and demanded sexual favors as part of initiation, according to a report by NBC News. Guadalupe Lopez, who was assigned to the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s station in Boyle Heights beginning in 2011, is seeking unspecified damages. Full Article
Read MoreSuits challenge sex offender laws
Lawyer and her reform group were prompted by recent appellate court ruling A civil rights lawyer aiming to reform sex offender laws has started suing municipalities across California to force the removal of ordinances that bar sex offenders from many public facilities, including parks, swimming pools and bus stops.Janice Bellucci, who practices in Santa Maria and is president of the group California Reform Sex Offender Laws, said the ordinances violate the state and federal constitutions. On Friday, Bellucci sued Pomona in the Central District federal court in Los Angeles, and…
Read MoreVisiting Child Pornography Websites Is a Crime—Appeals Court
Viewing child pornography on the Internet constitutes the crime of “possessing” or “controlling“ such matter, in violation of Penal Code §311.11, the Court of Appeal for this district held yesterday. The court also said that viewing the images constitutes possession inasmuch as a PC automatically captures the images, downloading them to the cache, and that causing them to be visible on the screen amounts to control. Full Article
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