Category: General News

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SEPTEMBER 16–A group of five young Florida men is facing an assortment of criminal charges for battering and falsely imprisoning a man who they targeted in a “To Catch a Predator”-style sting that was recorded and “uploaded to a website for public viewing for profit,” according to court records. As alleged in arrest affidavits, the video vigilantism occurred around 2 AM Friday at a home in Largo, a city in the Tampa Bay area. The victim arrived at the residence allegedly expecting to meet a minor for a sexual encounter. The…

BALDWIN COUNTY, AL. (WALA) – A local pastor is speaking out after court documents show he allowed People Forced to Register (PFR) to volunteer at a car wash that was too close to a school or daycare. According to the documents, Dennis Potter is accused of allowing six PFR to volunteer to help wash cars on Sept. 14. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office said the car wash happened near a school or daycare. By law, PFR cannot be within 2000 feet of. Potter, who owns Outcast Ministries Inc., a non-profit…

Source: reason.com 8/27/25 From Baird v. Reyes, decided yesterday by Judge Andrea Wood (N.D. Ill.): Baird’s three-page handwritten complaint … alleges that, on February 14, 2024, Reyes posted on his Facebook page an image of Baird with the text: “If anyone sees this fucking pedo with my kid and baby momma, let me know immediately.” … Here, the Court finds that the facts surrounding his conviction reveal that Baird, as an adult, had a sexual relationship with a minor, and such conduct is commonly associated with the term pedophile. As Baird…

Alissa R. Ackerman   Jul 15 Moral panic occurs when people react to a societal problem with intense fear or outrage toward something they perceive as a threat to their values or safety. Moral panics can happen whether a perceived threat is real or exaggerated. Media accounts fuel and amplify our emotions, and our feelings then turn certain people into villains or monsters. Nowhere is this phenomenon more prevalent than in the study of sex crimes and the people who commit them. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were…

Defendant had 100K X followers, and as a result O’Leary “was flooded with unwanted communications.” Reason: Eugene Volokh | 7.14.2025 5:01 PM From Judge Beth Bloom’s order today granting default judgment in O’Leary v. Armstrong: Defendant posted on X Plaintiff’s private cell phone number and encouraged the public to harass Plaintiff, stating “[h]ave you ever wanted to call a real life murderer?! You can NOW! @kevinoleartyv is waiting for your call.” Following the post, Plaintiff began receiving communications from strangers who had obtained his number directly from Defendant’s post. On March 20, 2025…

Source: gizmodo.com 7/11/25 Tucker Carlson consistently ranks among the top 20 podcasts on platforms like Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. But the far-right influencer made a rather bizarre admission about technology on his show this past Tuesday. The former Fox News host claims he doesn’t own a computer. Why? Carlson says he doesn’t want the CIA to plant “kiddie porn” on it. The topic came up when Carlson was speaking with his guest, MAGA commentator Saagar Enjeti, about Jefferey Epstein and the Department of Justice’s insistence that there was nothing more to release…

Source: mhanational.org (Mental Health America) Summary Sexual crimes are an unspeakable tragedy and among the most serious forms of violence imaginable. This is especially true when the victims are children. In response, at least twenty states and the Federal government have enacted “sexually violent persons” legislation.1 These laws provide for indefinite commitment of persons who have committed sex offenses after they have completed prison terms for these same crimes.2 We currently confine more than 6,300 people as sexually violent persons.3 Mental Health America supports using the criminal justice system to convict persons…

Source: theconversation.com 5/15/25 When one judge blocks a president’s policies nationwide, alarm bells ring. Should a single judge wield this much power? Can they halt policies across the entire country after just a quick first look at whether they might be illegal? The Supreme Court now faces these critical questions. In a lively session on May 15, 2025, filled with justices’ questions that at times interrupted the attorneys appearing before them, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case stemming from President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, the…

Source: reason.com 5/14/25 [ACSOL is posting this because, although not specific to registrants, registrants as well as members of their families would likely agree with its contents] After mountain runner Michelino Sunseri ascended and descended Grand Teton in record time last fall, his corporate sponsor, The North Face, heralded his achievement as “an impossible dream—come true.” Then came the nightmare: Federal prosecutors charged Sunseri with a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail for using a trail that the National Park Service described as closed, although it had never bothered to clearly inform the…

Source gelmanlawfirm.com Public discussion about registered prior sex offenders often sparks strong opinions, but the reality is more complex than many people realize. The United States maintains one of the most stringent registry systems in the world, with an estimated 800,000 individuals. While the registry is intended to support law enforcement and promote transparency, it is important to understand the legal, social, and economic context behind these numbers.  In this report from Gelman Law Firm, we used national and state data to discover which 50 counties have the highest per capita number of…

The Catholic Church has issued a warning to its clergy in Washington state: Any priest who complies with a new law requiring the reporting of child abuse confessions to authorities will be excommunicated. The new law, which will take effect on July 27, eliminates the long-standing confidentiality of the confessional, forcing Catholic leaders and lawmakers into a highly charged standoff over religious liberty and child protection. However, the Archdiocese of Seattle and several bishops argue that the law not only contravenes church doctrine but crosses constitutional lines, while supporters maintain…

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether to disclose information about a neighbor on the sex-offense registry. I recently reneged on an offer to buy a house because I discovered that a registered person lived across the street. I found this information on a public website that is available for our state and county. This discovery raised many questions for me. First, the sales contract of the home specifically said the seller and seller’s agent are not obligated to divulge information about any nearby neighbors on the sex-offense registry. It’s unclear…