Canada: 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…

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Canada: 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…

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Ireland: 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…

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E.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…

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UK: 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…

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Canada: 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…

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Philippines: 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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UK: Teacher sacked and arrested after girls made up sex claims ‘for fun’ gets payout

Source: msn.com 10/17/23 A male teacher at an all-girls grammar school has been awarded £45,000 after he was sacked over sex assault claims pupils later said had been made up ‘for fun’.  Jonathan Hawker, who taught maths and computing, lost his job at Devonport High School for Girls after pupils said he assaulted them by touching their thighs and massaging their shoulders.  He endured the ‘brutal experience’ of being arrested at his home before being dismissed from the Plymouth school for gross misconduct.  His appeal against the sacking was then…

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FAC President Speaks to UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva Switzerland

Source: Florida Action Committee 10/16/23 Today, our FAC President Gail Colletta addressed the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva Switzerland to call out the United States’ failure to address the inhumane Registry scheme and specifically the practice of allowing states to create Sex Offender Residency Restrictions (SORRs). Gail had only two-minutes to define the problem and ask the UN to hold the United States accountable for the violation of numerous human rights. While there is more that needs to be done to abolish the Registry entirely, her presence today…

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Edinburgh, Scotland: Man who raped girl, 13, appeals conviction

A rapist given community service after attacking a 13-year-old girl says he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice. Lawyers for Sean Hogg, 21, told the appeal court that the judge misdirected the jury during his trial and the conviction should be quashed. Hogg was found guilty of attacking his young victim multiple times in Dalkeith Country Park in 2018, when he was 17. He avoided prison after judge Lord Lake consulted Scotland’s new sentencing guidelines for people aged under 25. Donald Findlay KC told the Court of Criminal Appeal…

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Philippines: ‘Sex tourism’ comeback feared as 5 offenders denied PH entry

Source: globalnation.inquirer.net 9/12/23 MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday raised concern over the possible “resurgence of sex tourism” in the Philippines as five foreign offenders were stopped from entering the country in just one week. Four Americans identified as _______________ were denied entry as they were found to be registered sex offenders (RSO), according to the BI. “With the return of tourism also comes the return of aliens who will try to abuse our hospitality,” Commissioner Norman Tansingco said in a statement. “We warn these predators…

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Thailand: U.S. teacher and TikTok star arrested in Thailand after having sex with a teenager

Source: nbcnews.com 9/5/23 ACSOL note; Although we don’t normally post information about arrests, this is shocking and could serve as a warning to those who read our website and live overseas. BANGKOK, Thailand — An American teacher and TikTok star has been arrested in Thailand after allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl he met online, authorities said. Luke ____ was arrested on Saturday in the Thai capital, Bangkok, according to police. He appeared in court on Monday night and was released on bail. The girl’s family said he passed…

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UK: Wanted sex offender caught on facial recognition camera at King Charles coronation

Source: independent.co.uk 7/31/23 A wanted sex offender was sent back to jail after being caught by a facial recognition camera at the coronation of King Charles. The 33-old-man, who has not been named, was picked up by one of the cameras operating in a van near Buckingham Palace on 6 May. An image of his face was captured by the hi-tech cameras and fed into a database that matched a mugshot of a wanted suspect. This sparked an alert to the Metropolitan Police and the man was immediately arrested and…

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Europe: European Union to require U.S. travelers with passports to fill out visa application

Source: cbsnews.com 7/21/23 New requirements are on the horizon for travelers with a U.S. passport looking to get to Europe. The European Union continues to plan the rollout of new travel document requirements through its European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). It would require travelers with U.S. passports to fill out an online visa application before being granted entry into the EU. “It won’t be complicated, it’s just an annoyance,” said CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg. “Most Americans, in fact, all Americans, are not used to doing this…

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UK: Gimp in the crowd is much ado about nothing, says Globe theatre

Source: news.yahoo.com 7/22/23  The man wore head-to-toe latex with a face mask and leather harness Shakespeare’s Globe allowed a man in a gimp outfit to roam the theatre while children were present and dismissed complaints because his sexual fetish latex bodysuit “did not contain offensive slogans”. Theatregoers raised concerns that the man was wearing head-to-toe latex with a face mask and leather harness which was “a very scary sight” and put “parents in a very uncomfortable position”. However, an internal staff report circulated by a manager later that day said…

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Italy: Italian man cleared of assault because grope only lasted ‘between five and 10 seconds’

Source: theguardian.com 7/13/23 An Italian judge has provoked outrage after clearing a school caretaker of sexually assaulting a teenage girl because the grope lasted only “a handful of seconds”. A 17-year-old student at a school in Rome complained of being groped by the caretaker as she walked up a staircase with a friend in April 2022. She said her trousers had fallen down from her waist and as she was pulling them up she felt a pair of hands touching her buttocks before the man grabbed her underwear and lifted…

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International Travel 2023

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 2022, International Travel 2021, International Travel 2020 and International Travel 2019. In this International Travel 2023 post, the information is identical to the International Travel 2022 post. We added a new post for 2023 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 Travel section. It…

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