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Man accused of groping girl in park restroom could face life term
A man who allegedly followed a 13-year-old girl and her 7-year-old sister into a park bathroom and fondled one of them was charged Monday with multiple counts of committing lewd acts on a child, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Frank Zsemlye, 27, allegedly followed the girls into the women’s restroom at Modjeska Park in Anaheim on July 19 and pulled the 13-year-old girl into a stall. He is accused of then covering her mouth as he groped various parts of her body over her clothes, according to…
Read MoreNJ: Due Process: Megan’s Law
It began in New Jersey 15 years ago when the murder-rape of 7-year-old Megan Kanka launched a nationwide movement – and laws in all 50 states. The idea was to keep tabs on sex offenders through town by town registries … and, in the cases of those deemed most likely to strike again, to notify neighbors, schools and community institutions that a potential sexual predator was among them. But now a federally-funded study by the NJ Department of Corrections concludes that Megan’s Law may be a failure – that it…
Read MoreList of Problems with the Sex Crime/Offender System
October 13. 2011 – There are so many problems with the current sex crime/offender system that it is overwhelming to think about it. You can’t truly understand how dark life can be until you’ve been charged with a sex crime. Once charged, you will be shocked at the new world in which you live, and the new identity you have assumed. You will look around, wondering why somebody isn’t doing something about it. You will ask yourself, “How can they get away with that?” This happens every day, over and…
Read MoreSex offender law is wrong
In the Santa Maria Times – Your reporter wrote a fair and balanced article regarding Lompoc’s sex-offender ordinance, which prohibits sex offenders from residing in most parts of the city. The article was balanced in that it included statements from both sides of the issue. As the head of the California Reform Sex Offender Laws organization, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to restoring the rights of those convicted of sex-related offenses, it is rare to see such balance. It is unfortunate, however, that Lompoc has passed this law, because it does…
Read MoreDC: Register Now for Reentry Summit Sponsored by U.S. Department of Labor
Reentry through Employment: A Comprehensive Approach to Reintegrating the Formerly Incarcerated – Supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance An Event Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor Register now for this summit event, which will focus on successful state and local approaches to reentry, challenges to reentry for special populations, and model programs adopted by the business community. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis will offer a keynote address and other federal agencies, including the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services, the Small Business Administration,…
Read MoreRI: ACLU to challenge sex offender law
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – The Rhode Island Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is holding a news conference Monday afternoon. The RI ACLU plans to announce the filing of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law that makes it a felony for a sex offender to reside within 300 feet of a school. The suit is being brought on behalf of three individuals, two of them with developmental disabilities, who are facing potential homelessness as a result of the law. Advocates from the disability community will also…
Read MoreNC: Supporters rally around convicted child sex offender
A Gaston County jury said that Pastor Keith Devon Pettis used his role as a foster parent to sexually abuse a 12-year-old girl. A group of Pettis’ parishioners and family disagrees. That group has hosted rallies in support of the 45-year-old man, and his case will be at the center of a march and rally scheduled for Saturday. Full Article
Read MoreTeen Girl Admits To Fabricating Story Of Kidnapping, Sexual Assault
In the small community of Oakdale, the word of a sex predator on its streets spread fast. “Everybody was on edge. It was all over town, on Facebook, saying watch your kids cause it is a small town. We’re only 18,000 people,” said resident Stan Johnson. A 16-year-old girl at Oakdale High reported being taken at knifepoint and raped. It was the first alleged sex crime in Oakdale in more than a decade. Full Article
Read MoreJury selection begins for alleged sex offender killer
LAKEPORT — Jury selection is under way for the trial of a Lakeport man accused of killing another man nearly five years ago using information he received from California’s online Megan’s Law sex offender registry. Ivan Garcia Oliver, 34, faces three felonies, including murder, in connection with the November 2007 stabbing death of Michael A. Dodele, 67, who was listed as a sex offender at the time. Full Article
Read MoreO.C. man gets 65 years in sexual assault of 7-year-old girl
A Huntington Beach man was sentenced Friday to 65 years to life in state prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled 7-year-old girl. Daniel Vlas Flores, 30, was found guilty in April of multiple sex crimes against a child, including kidnapping, sodomy and intercourse. His victim only managed to escape because of the efforts of her 8-year-old friend, who managed to get into Flores’ apartment and rescue her. Full Article
Read MoreInternet Access Is a Human Right, Says United Nations
Is Internet access and online freedom of expression a basic human right? The United Nations’ Human Rights Council unanimously backed that notion in a resolution passed Thursday. The resolution says that all people should be allowed to connect to and express themselves freely on the Internet. All 47 members of the Human Rights Council, including notoriously censorship-prone countries such as China and Cuba, signed the resolution. Full Article
Read MoreSanta Ana councilman faces sex assault charges
A Santa Ana city councilman abused his power as a high-ranking county official by targeting and luring at least seven female employees to his office and other locations to hug, kiss and touch them inappropriately over a period of eight years, prosecutors said Tuesday. Carlos Bustamante, a former administration manager at the Orange County public works department, has been charged with a dozen felonies, including attempted sexual battery, stalking, fraud and six counts of false imprisonment. “Each of the victims was afraid that, if they reported the sexual assault, they…
Read MoreIf It Saves One Child
It would be difficult today to find a person who had no idea what the sex offender registry is. It would be equally difficult to find someone with only a passing interest who didn’t feel that it is a good thing to have. It started in most states as a law enforcement tool identifying repeat, sexually violent child predators. It now has an estimated 700,000 names on it and encompasses acts as varied as consensual teen sex, taking and sending a photo of one’s own breasts, and rape. And even…
Read MoreWilmington Residents Gather to Discuss Sex Offenders
WILMINGTON, Calif. (KTLA) — Concerned residents in Wilmington held a community meeting Tuesday to discuss their options to stop sex offenders from moving to town. The residents also wanted to find out why more sex offenders are living in Wilmington than in outlying areas. The city’s zip code is home to at least 177 registered offenders. Compared to numbers of offenders living in nearby zip codes, Wilmington’s amount is remarkably high. Full Article
Read MoreAmerican Sex Offender – A Documentary project in Los Angeles
VIEW THE TRAILER / BACK THIS PROJECT! Synopsis: American Sex Offender is an ambitious, groundbreaking, and unprecedented feature-length documentary film that reveals the untold story of hundreds of thousands of America’s most shunned social outcasts: registered “sex offenders”. By creatively interweaving the human stories of real registrants, expert commentary on America’s unjust and inefficient laws, the filmmaker’s personal story, and shocking cases of punishments that don’t fit the crime; the film challenges the fairness and usefulness of the country’s contemporary sex offender laws and registration systems. Story: Like lepers of…
Read MoreThe Digital Divide: How the Online Behavior of Teens is Getting Past Parents
Despite the obvious disconnect between teens’ online behaviors and parents’ knowledge of them, parents continue to exude a sense of confidence and control. Most parents insist they’re in control when it comes to mentoring their teen’s online behaviors. Yet, many teens believe their parents are in the dark. More than three in four parents express confidence they know how to find out what their teen is doing online, and half of parents live under the assumption that their teen tells them everything he/she does online. In reality, over two in…
Read MoreNY: Has Westchester’s Sex Offender Registry Done Anything to Make Our Children Safer?
We might feel at ease knowing that, if a sex offender moved into our neighborhood, we’d have to be informed. But does that really protect our children? In Tom Perrotta’s novel, Little Children, a convicted sex offender moves back to the town where he grew up to live with his mother. Isolated and ostracized, he nonetheless ventures to the town swimming pool one steamy summer afternoon to cool off. When the crowd begins to realize he’s snorkeling in the pool, it quickly empties as screaming mothers grab their toddlers and…
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