PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) — Police officers and parole agents were out in force in the San Gabriel Valley on Halloween night, making sure convicted pedophiles weren’t trying to lure trick-or-treaters into their homes. It was all part of “Operation Boo.” At a motel in El Monte, officers arrested a registered sex offender. Authorities say he violated his parole by keeping Halloween candies in his room. “This (candy) is what we were looking for, and he had it in a way where you could distribute it to trick-or-treaters,” state parole agent Bernard Villa…
Read MoreCategory: California
Sex Offender Residency Restrictions Serve No Purpose
Under Jessica’s Law, sex offenders in San Francisco are barred from residing within two thousand feet of any school or park where children regularly gather. Due to San Francisco’s limited size and dense population, it is nearly impossible to find housing outside of this restricted zone. Consequently, the number of homeless sex offenders living in San Francisco has surged since the implementation of the restriction. This unintended consequence has led to multiple challenges to the restriction’s constitutionality and effectiveness. Full Article
Read MoreSexting scandal exposed: 30 teen girls in 7 San Diego schools, felony charges
A sexting scandal which began when a dozen San Diego teen girls sent nude photos of themselves to their boyfriends is a rude awakening that sending nude pictures on the internet is considered a criminal offense. “Police say possessing and distributing these types of images is considered child pornography and is against the law,” reported San Diego’s 10News on Oct. 30, 2013. Full Article More: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Charges-To-Be-Filed-in-Teen-Sexting-Ring-229646361.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_SDBrand
Read MoreNew Legislation signed by Gov. Brown (“Ban-the-box” / Cert. of Rehabilitation) UPDATED
Several pieces of new legislation were signed into law by Governor Brown earlier this month that might of interest here. Among them are a prohibition of asking for information about criminal records on employment applications (“ban the box”), as well as a possible discretionary shortening of the waiting period for a Certificate of Rehabilitation if the “interest of justice is being served”. Full Article / More Info NOTE: 290 Registrants are excluded from a discretionary shortening of the waiting period for a Certificate of Rehabilitation. (added by Admin 10/28) 4852.22. Except…
Read MoreNew law targets sex offenders who disarm tracking devices
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown cracked down on sex offenders who disarm their electronic trackers while on parole, signing legislation Saturday requiring that they stay in jail once they are caught. Some counties with severely crowded jails have freed such offenders almost immediately after detaining them for tampering with the GPS devices, a Times investigation found this year. The bill Brown approved requires that the offenders be sentenced to 180 days and serve their entire parole revocation in jail. Full Article
Read MorePavley Bill Hiking Penalties for Kiddie Porn is Law
Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 145 by Sen. Fran Pavley on Saturday, raising the maximum penalty for the most serious child pornography offenses.The bill was sponsored by Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten and strongly supported by the California District Attorneys Association. SB 145 received the unanimous support of both the Assembly and the Senate because it addresses problems with existing California law. Full Article
Read MoreBrown vetoes bill giving sex abuse victims more time to file lawsuits
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have given some childhood sex abuse victims more time to file lawsuits, after a heated opposition campaign led by the Catholic Church that stretched from Capitol hallways to Los Angeles church pews. In an unusually detailed three-page veto message released Saturday, the Democratic governor, a former Jesuit seminarian, said the bill raised questions of equal treatment of public and private employers. Pointing to a centuries-long tradition of limiting the period when legal claims can be filed, Brown said institutions should…
Read MoreCity of Orange Gives Final Approval to Repeal of Sex Offender Ordinance
The City Council of the City of Orange, in a vote of 4 to 1, gave final approval on October 8 to repeal a city law that required registered citizens to post a sign in front of their residence on Halloween. The City’s first vote on this issue took place on September 24, only six days after a lawsuit was filed in federal district court challenging the ordinance. Prior to filing the lawsuit, the City was asked on September 3 to repeal the ordinance, but failed to consider the issue…
Read MoreOrange County Deputies Fired After Brutal Jail Killing Want More Taxpayer Money
While a group of inmates inside “F Barracks” at Orange County’s Theo Lacy Jail beat, kicked, stomped and sodomized another inmate for as long as 40 minutes on October 5, 2006, Deputy Kevin Taylor, the senior ranking officer with oversight responsibilities for the area, sat on the other side of a large window and later claimed he was too busy to hear the victim screaming for his life or to see any hint of the gruesome killing reminiscent of a hyena attack. Though prisoners insisted Taylor informed inmate shot-callers that…
Read MoreUnfit to Practice?
In 2007 the civil litigator and former captain in the Army Reserves, now 56, was a JAG lawyer assigned to Los Alamitos Army Airfield when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Virginia tracked hits on approximately 18 commercial child pornography websites. ICE agents in Project Flicker, as it was known, located a number of active and retired military members, civilians, and contractor employees – several of whom had Top Secret or higher clearances – who allegedly used their military email addresses to register for PayPal accounts to access…
Read More‘I Don’t Feel I Was a Victim’
On March 10, 1977, director Roman Polanski raped Samantha Geimer, who was 13 at the time, during a photo shoot in Los Angeles. The agonizing legal dispute that followed lasted a year and ended with the prominent director fleeing the United States. Thirty-two years later, Polanski was taken into custody in Switzerland and placed under house arrest. A Swiss court was supposed to rule on his extradition, which triggered yet another bitter controversy over the case. Geimer, now 50, has described her version of the events in a book to…
Read MoreCalifornia Sex Offenders Get Halloween Victory
An Orange, Calif., ordinance that required registered sex offenders to post a sign on their front door on Halloween has been repealed, less than a week after a federal lawsuit was filed claiming the practice was unconstitutional. For the approximately 100 registered sex offenders in the city of Orange, it was a matter of their own personal safety, said Janice Bellucci, an attorney representing the plaintiff and head of California Reform Our Sex Offender Laws, an advocacy group that fights for the civil rights of registered sex offenders. “It means…
Read MoreHow A New Job Application Form Could Save Hundreds Of Californians From Returning To Prison
In an attempt to cut down on employment discrimination against felons and reduce recidivism rates, a bill waiting for Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D-CA) signature would remove a question on local and state job applications asking applicants about their criminal record. Checking that box on a job application can often automatically disqualify an applicant who has served time in prison, making it nearly impossible for ex-convicts to find legitimate work. California already removed the questions regarding felony and domestic abuse convictions from most public job applications, putting them instead on a…
Read MoreOrange City Council Repeals Halloween Sign Ordinance
The City Council of Orange, in a vote of 4 to 0, voted in favor of repealing a city ordinance that required registrants to post a sign on the front door of their residence for 24 hours on Halloween. The vote was taken after a lengthy discussion which included a recommendation by the City Attorney to repeal that requirement. “California Reform Sex Offender Laws (CA RSOL) thanks the City Council of Orange for upholding the constitution in tonight’s vote,” stated Janice Bellucci, president of CA RSOL. “It is unfortunate, however,…
Read MoreOrange May Spike Ordinance Requiring Sex Offenders to Post Signs at Homes on Halloween
UPDATE, SEPT. 24, 8:30 A.M.: Orange City Attorney Wayne Winthers has reportedly looked at the judge’s ruling in Simi Valley, negotiated with RSOL’s Janice Bellucci and decided to recommend the Orange City Council spike the sign requirement in its Halloween ordinance. The council is expected to take up the issue in closed session next week, reports the Los Angeles Times. State open meeting laws allow pending litigation to be discussed behind closed doors. Full Article
Read MoreCalifornia signs private-prison deal
SACRAMENTO — California has signed a contract with private prison contractor Geo Group to lease space for 1,400 inmates in overcrowded state lockups. The company announced the contract early Monday morning, even before Gov. Jerry Brown learns whether federal judges will grant his request for a three-year delay in the courts’ orders to cap the prison population. The governor’s lawyers have asked judges to make their own decision by Friday. Full Article
Read MoreEx-San Mateo County official gets jail for child porn
REDWOOD CITY — The former head of San Mateo County’s probation department was taken away in handcuffs Friday to begin serving 10 months in jail for having child pornography on a work computer and other electronic devices. ____ _____, dressed in a dark suit, was stoic as sheriff’s deputies led him from a San Mateo County Superior courtroom. Before the sentence was handed down, ____ apologized for possessing some 470 images of naked boys but maintained his defense that he had the photos for his job. Full Article
Read MoreO.C. city likely to drop Halloween law aimed at sex offenders
An Orange County city will probably toss out a law requiring registered sex offenders to post a sign in front of their homes on Halloween to discourage trick-or-treaters after it was hit with a federal lawsuit alleging the practice is unconstitutional. Registered sex offenders in the city of Orange are legally required to post a sign on Halloween, no smaller than 12 by 24 inches, that reads, “No candy or treats at this residence.” Violators face a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday…
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