Source: starcomnetwork.net 5/15/24 There is a call for a national register for child sex offenders in Barbados. It came from the Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Charles Griffith during the debate on the report of the Child Protection Bill in the House of Assembly yesterday. Mr. Griffith stressed that the Government needs to move a step further and implement the register. Read the full article
Read MoreCategory: International
EU plan to force messaging apps to scan for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) risks millions of false positives, experts warn
Source: techcrunch.com 5/2/24 A controversial push by European Union lawmakers to legally require messaging platforms to scan citizens’ private communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) could lead to millions of false positives per day, hundreds of security and privacy experts warned in an open letter Thursday. Concern over the EU proposal has been building since the Commission proposed the CSAM-scanning plan two years ago — with independent experts, lawmakers across the European Parliament and even the bloc’s own Data Protection Supervisor among those sounding the alarm. The EU proposal would…
Read MoreMA: Former Mass. city councilor accused of having explicit images of a child apparently joined Russian army
Source: wbur.org 4/11/24 A U.S. Air Force veteran who fled a charge of possessing sexually explicit images of a child told his lawyer he joined Russia’s army, and video appears to show him signing documents in a military enlistment office in Siberia. Wilmer Puello-Mota, a former elected official in Holyoke, Massachusetts, was expected to enter a guilty plea in Rhode Island in early January, but did not show up to court, according to prosecutors. Last week, video surfaced that appears to show the 28-year-old in Russia and expressing support for…
Read MoreMO: St. Louis man fled country, spent nearly a decade in Asia avoiding child porn charges
Source: stltoday.com 2/22/24 ST. LOUIS — When federal prosecutors opened Dominic Pavia’s file last year, they found floppy disks inside. They were finally revisiting his case after Pavia fled the U.S. and spent nearly a decade in China, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines after learning that he was facing indictment for child pornography charges. He pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography upon his return, and on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge John Ross ruled on the cost of Pavia’s years on the run: seven years in federal prison. “We’re here…
Read MoreAsylum Case Result #2 (Good News): German High Court Condemns Torture Used Against American Sex Offenders
Source: Just Facts Not Fear / Common Sense Laws on YouTube 2/15/24 Recently, two more asylum cases (brought by American asylum seekers), both initially denied and facing deportation, were decided by a German federal judge. We will examine the outcomes of both cases. This is the first case of the two and it solidifies Germany’s stance against at least one of the torture methods that the Americans use on their victims they brand as “sex offenders”. The redacted case file, dated 22 January 2024, can be viewed on our site Just Facts…
Read MoreSpain: TSJM denies applying ‘Yes is Yes Law’ to minor sex offender with 19-year sentence
Spain: alaskacommons.com 2/16/24 The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has rejected an appeal to review a sentence imposed on a man who was found guilty of several sexual crimes against minors between 2014 and 2017. The man was sentenced to 19 years and seven days in prison by the Provincial Court of Madrid. The appellant requested a reduction in his sentence under the ‘Yes is Yes Law’, but the High Court judges rejected his request. The Chamber argued that the absence of freely given consent in the episodes…
Read MoreHungary’s president Katalin Novák stepped down after pardoning a man convicted of helping cover up sex abuse
Source: theguardian.com 2/10/24 The Hungarian president has announced her resignation over her decision to pardon a man convicted of helping cover up a sex abuse case at a children’s home as the controversy posed a challenge for Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán. The pardon decision was made last year but only caught the public’s attention over the past days after a report by the local news site 444.hu, which was met with outrage, leading Hungary’s opposition to call for Katalin Novák to step down. “I made a mistake,” Novák said…
Read MoreCanada: Registrants have the same low re-offense risk as the general public after about 10 years of being offence-free in the community
Source: utpjournals.press 7/3/2023 The public is justifiably concerned about the risk presented by individuals with a history of sexual crime. Given that recidivism risk varies across individuals and over time, what level is so low as to be indistinguishable from sexual recidivism risk in the general population (a desistance threshold)? T … Other research has found that most individuals released from a sexual offence present a similarly low residual risk (< 2%) after 10 years of being offence-free in the community. Consequently, applying long-term restrictions (e.g., lifetime registration; Criminal Code…
Read MoreInternational Travel 2024
This post is intended as a place for discussions about International Travel ONLY. For more information and previous discussions on the topic, please see International Travel 2023, International Travel 2022, International Travel 2021, International Travel 2020 and International Travel 2019. In this International Travel 2024 post, the information is identical to the International Travel 2023 post. We added a new post for 2024 in order to keep the discussion manageable. Please help us by sticking to the topic of International Travel only. ==== From 2020: We have updated our main International…
Read MoreUK accuses Meta of empowering child sexual abusers with encryption rollout
Source: theguardian.com 12/7/23 Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has been accused by the UK government of empowering child sexual abusers after the tech firm began rolling out the automatic encryption of all messages on its Facebook and Messenger platforms. The home secretary, James Cleverly, described the move as a “significant step back” for child safety after Meta said it would introduce end-to-end encryption on the apps. The move means that only the sender and receiver of messages on the platforms will be able to access their content. Cleverly said: “Law enforcement,…
Read MoreUK: ‘I can’t defend what he did’: Why I stayed with my child sex offender husband
Source: news.sky.com 12/4/23 Sarah, not her real name, was shocked when her husband was arrested and later convicted of viewing hundreds of illegal child abuse images. After agonising over her future, she decided to stay with him. Watch the video
Read MoreCanada: Police link suicide of 12-year-old Prince George, B.C., boy to online sexual extortion
Source: cbc.ca 11/27/23 Police in Prince George, B.C., are warning about the dangers of sexual extortion after the suicide of a 12-year-old boy in their community. The preteen took his own life on Oct. 12 and investigators have since determined his actions were in response to online sextortion, according to an RCMP news release. Police are still working to identify a suspect. “We are calling for parents and caregivers to be honest with their youth about the dangers of online activity, especially if they are engaging in chats with people they don’t…
Read MoreCanada: Macron’s wife admits her mind was ‘a mess’ when she dated her high school aged ex-pupil
Source: foxnews.com 11/19/23 French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife Brigitte Macron revealed her relationship anxieties from the early days of dating the future French leader – including concerns he would “fall in love with someone his age” after moving schools. “My head was in a mess,” Brigitte Macron said during a rare interview, given to the outlet Paris Match, and reported in the Daily Telegraph. “For me, such a young boy was crippling.” “Emmanuel had to leave for Paris,” Macron revealed. “I told myself that he would fall in love with…
Read MoreIreland: Tougher laws for sex offenders come into effect
Source: rte.ie 11/13/23 A range of laws which have come into effect will mean gardaí will now be able to disclose information about sex offenders to others if there is a threat to public safety. The Department of Justice said that “in extenuating circumstances”, the laws allow for An Garda Síochána to disclose information relating to people on the sex offender register. It also places the current Sex Offender Risk Assessment and Management (SORAM) monitoring process for sex offenders on a statutory footing. SORAM is the joint management process by…
Read MoreE.U.: Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) detection regulation
Source: iccl.ie 11/6/23 In response to a request for documents pertaining to the decision-making behind the proposed CSAM regulation, the European Commission failed to disclose a list of companies who were consulted about the technical feasibility of detecting CSAM without undermining encryption. This list “clearly fell within the scope” of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties’ request. The European Ombudsman has now held that the Commission’s failure to disclose the existence of this list constituted “maladministration”. The technical feasibility question is a major sticking point in the EU negotiations around…
Read MoreUK: Government to toughen sentences for sexual crimes in King’s Speech
Source: bbc.com 11/6/23 Offenders who commit murders with sexual or sadistic motives will spend the rest of their lives in prison, under government proposals. The plan will be in the King’s Speech, where King Charles reads out the government’s plan for the year ahead at the State Opening of Parliament. It will also include measures to force criminals to appear in the dock, and a law to prevent prisoners from marrying. This will be King Charles’s first time delivering the speech as monarch. It will also be Rishi Sunak’s first…
Read MoreCanada: Liberal bill updating sex-offender registry in response to court decision becomes law
Source: ctvnews.ca 10/27/23 OTTAWA – A Liberal bill that adds victims’ input to the process for publication ban decisions and changes how the national sexual offender registry works has received royal assent. The new law requires judges to ask prosecutors if they have sought a victim’s input when seeking a publication ban, and requires victims’ preferences about receiving information about their case after an offender’s sentencing to be entered into the record. It also adds new entries to the list of offences that can result in someone being added to…
Read MorePhilippines: American sex offenders denied entry into Philippines at NAIA
Source: palawan-news.com 10/22/23 Two convicted American sex offenders were denied entry into the Philippines by the immigration bureau at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) this week. They were identified by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) as Eric Blair ___, 57, who arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 on October 19, aboard a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight from Los Angeles, California, and Marlon ___, 57, who arrived on a PAL flight from Honolulu on October 20. BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said on Saturday that Smith is a registered sex offender (RSO) in…
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