A San Diego man wrongly accused of raping a 14-year-old girl is free, thanks to Team 10, in a case that is now shedding light on what could be some problems with the local court system you help pay for. Much of the case against ____ ____ was not as it seemed and it soon became clear that the victim, who was actually a woman in her 20s with three children (who she does not have custody of), had not been forthcoming with the truth. Full Article
Read MoreCategory: California
South Pasadena agrees not to enforce city’s presence restrictions
The City of South Pasadena has agreed not to enforce its presence restrictions which prohibited all registered citizens from “loitering” in the city’s parks, library, school bus stops, restaurants with children’s playground, etc. The City formalized its agreement in a letter from City Manager Sergio Gonzalez dated February 24 (below). The City’s agreement was reached after California RSOL notified the City that its presence restrictions were in violation of two recent decisions by the California Court of Appeal which stated that similar restrictions in Orange County and the City…
Read MoreMission Viejo agrees not to enforce Presence Restrictions for 290s
The City of Mission Viejo has agreed not to enforce the presence restrictions in an ordinance it adopted in January 2012. The agreement is now in effect and will continue to remain in effect unless the State Supreme Court makes an adverse ruling in a related case. According to a letter from Mayor Trish Kelley dated February 21, 2014 (below), the Chief of Police Services and the City Attorney recommended to the City Council a stay of enforcement for the city’s ordinance. The presence restrictions in that ordinance that will not be enforced include all…
Read MoreWrongly convicted man free after 8 years
Every day behind bars was torture, but holidays hurt the most. It wasn’t just missing Thanksgiving or Christmas with his family. It was that he’d miss out next year, too, and the year after that, and the year after that. Every year for the rest of his life. Prison isn’t supposed to be easy, of course. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime — but what if you didn’t do the crime? Welcome to Uriah Courtney’s nightmare. He was convicted of sexually assaulting a high school girl…
Read MoreEND State Sanctioned Sexual Assault, Rape Culture and Law Enforcement Impunity
The San Diego police department’s scandal involving officers accused of preying on women who they came in contact with while in uniform and on duty. … We deserve to be safe. The recurrences of sexual assault committed by the above named officers as well as the investigation of San Diego police department’s facility concluded that we are not. Putting a woman or anyone in a position where they are LEGALLY sexually violated UNDER ANY THREAT should never happen. These THREATS are also in the form of entrapment by undercover police officers…
Read MoreProbation officials concede failures in GPS tracking of felons
Los Angeles County probation officials Tuesday conceded widespread failures in their electronic monitoring of felons, in which probation deputies were deluged with meaningless alerts while offenders went untracked for days and weeks at a time. “This is a blueprint of how not to implement a GPS program,” Probation Chief Jerry Powers told the county Board of Supervisors. He said deputies were not at fault, but blamed department administrators and the vendor who sold the county the service.The hearing was triggered by a Feb. 15 story in The Times disclosing that…
Read MoreChelsea’s Law: A Light to Shine On
Today — February 25, 2014 — I want to take a moment to remember the legacy of a girl named Chelsea King. Chelsea was an activist, a runner, a student, a friend, a daughter, and a spunky, charismatic, jovial bubble of joy. This Tuesday marks the fourth anniversary of Chelsea’s disappearance from Poway, Calif., and eventual murder. While she no can longer light up rooms with her smile or belt out a tune on her French horn, her legacy carries on today in the form of Chelsea’s Law. Chelsea’s Law…
Read MoreD.A. Wants Top Court to Review Rulings Overturning Ban on Sex Offenders in Parks
Orange County prosecutors petitioned the state Supreme Court to review two appellate court rulings striking down a ban on registered sex offenders in the county’s parks and in more than a dozen of its cities. “The people of the state of California respectfully petition this court to grant review of an important issue affecting every city and county in California,” Deputy District Attorney Brian Fitzpatrick wrote in his petition to the high court. “Cities and counties need to know whether they can act to protect children within their communities from the approximately…
Read MoreCosta Mesa repeals law banning sex offenders from public parks
The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday night agreed to repeal an ordinance that banned registered sex offenders from entering city parks without permission from law enforcement. The council’s unanimous vote comes after state appellate court rulings against similar ordinances adopted by the Irvine City Council and the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Costa Mesa is facing its own lawsuit, John Doe vs. City of Costa Mesa, filed in 2012. Full Article
Read MoreSex Offender’s Case Won’t Face En Banc Rehearing
PASADENA, Calif. (CN) – The full 9th Circuit should have been called to consider whether to let a sex offender challenge his parole conditions, as the question imperils “our constitutional system’s respect for state sovereignty,” five judges said Tuesday. ____ ____ alleges that California prison officials violated his civil rights by imposing residency and GPS monitoring restrictions typically reserved for sex offenders, even though he had only been convicted in the Golden State for robbery. The state justified the Jessica’s Law parole conditions because of ____’s sexual battery conviction in…
Read MoreGPS monitoring alerts overwhelm probation officers
SACRAMENTO — Electronic monitoring was supposed to help Los Angeles County deal with the influx of thousands of felons moved out of California’s prison system to ease overcrowding. The nation’s largest probation department strapped GPS ankle monitors on the highest-risk of those convicts, expecting the satellite receivers to keep tabs on where they spent their days and nights, and therefore keep the public safe. Instead, agents are drowning in a flood of meaningless data, masking alarms that could signal real danger. County probation officers are inundated with alerts, and at times received…
Read MoreCosta Mesa City Council to revisit sex-offender park ban [UPDATED]
UPDATE: Motion to repeal passes 5-0 The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to consider instituting a reward for help in identifying vandals and repealing a law that aims to rein in the movements of sex offenders. The Police Department has recommended that the council consider revoking a 2012 ordinance that bans registered sex offenders from entering city parks and sports facilities without law enforcement permission. Costa Mesa’s ordinance was similar to ones passed by the Orange County Board of Supervisors and Irvine City Council. Two state appellate court decisions, however, have ruled against the legality…
Read MoreAnderson sex offender shoots intruder in self defense
ANDERSON, Calif. – Shasta County deputies are seeking the last of three suspects in a shooting incident that left one man in critical condition. Investigators believe an Anderson resident shot an intruder in self-defense during an attempted robbery. Deputies said a woman came to the home of ____ ____, 56. ____, a convicted sex offender, told KRCR News Channel 7 how two intruders tried to rob him. “She pushed me back in [the house]. I realized she was involved in it, and she kept threatening me with a taser,” he said.…
Read MoreCITY OF CYPRESS AGREES NOT TO ENFORCE RESIDENCY AND PRESENCE RESTRICTIONS
The City of Cypress, located in Orange County, has agreed not to enforce most of its residency restrictions and all of its presence restrictions as terms of two settlement agreements reached on January 31. The City of Cypress also agreed to pay attorney’s fees and costs for the lawsuits filed against them in federal and state courts. In exchange, the plaintiffs in those cases have agreed to dismiss with prejudice the pending lawsuits. “This is a significant victory for the registered citizens and the family members of registered citizens in…
Read MoreSex offenders should not be allowed in parks or beaches
In 2012 a law was passed that prohibited registered sex offenders from entering areas where children would likely be present. This in includes parks, playgrounds and beaches. However, according to ABC News the law was overturned in an appeals court in January 2014 because it was said to violate California’s state law. It is clear the state of California and its cities are not doing all they can to protect the families and children of California by leaving them vulnerable to dangerous criminals. In May 2012, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas…
Read MoreSheriff Department Launches Sex Offender Watch System
STANISLAUS COUNTY – Sheriff Adam Christianson has announced the launch of a new service called OffenderWatch, a public notification system on sex offenders. The new service is a citizen-friendly, easy to use website that enables people to search for potentially dangerous sex offenders and predators, who may be in close proximity to their homes, places of work, schools, churches and day care centers. Full Article
Read MoreO.C. lawyer disbarred over child porn
Possession of child pornography is automatic grounds for a lawyer’s disbarment, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday.The ruling came as the court disbarred ____ ____ ____ of Aliso Viejo, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to a felony child porn charge. State law requires disbarment of a lawyer convicted of an offense involving “moral turpitude.” Until Thursday’s unanimous ruling, it had been unclear whether a conviction for possessing child pornography always met that standard. The State Bar, which oversees attorney discipline, had urged the Supreme Court to rule that it does. “Today’s decision…
Read MoreD.A. will take sex-offenders fight to state Supreme Court
[UPDATED 1/14] SANTA ANA The Orange County District Attorney’s Office plans to go to the California Supreme Court to defend local ordinances that ban registered sex offenders from city parks. A state appeals court on Friday struck down an Irvine law that barred registered sex offenders from city parks without written permission from police, a ruling that will become legal precedent. The court also struck down a similar Orange County law. About a dozen other Orange County cities passed similar ordinances banning sex offenders from parks at the urging of District Attorney…
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