Source: ACSOL A registrant and his wife were removed by from a plane they had already boarded in Los Angeles earlier this week. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials who removed them from the plane, the registrant’s passport had been revoked because it lacked the unique identifier required by the International Megan’s Law (IML). According to the registrant, he received no notice that his passport had been revoked prior to boarding the flight from Los Angeles to Amsterdam. After the registrant was removed from the plane, the…
Read MoreCategory: International
Philippines: Age of sexual consent
Source: philstar.com 9/29/21 The country has several laws to protect children from domestic violence and sexual abuse. Yet children continue to be victimized. One of the reasons has been the age of sexual consent – at 12 years old the lowest in Asia and one of the lowest in the world. Both chambers of Congress have now given their final nod to their respective measures that will raise the age of sexual consent to 16. Adults who have sex with minors below that age can face prosecution for statutory rape.…
Read MoreSri Lanka: Psychiatric assessment essential for sexual offenders or victims with ADHD: Study
Source: nation.lk 9/14/21 By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody Owing to neuro developmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in turn being associated with sexual abuse and related offences in the Sri Lankan context, it is recommended that children and adolescents who are either victims of sexual abuse or offenders of the same, undergo psychiatric assessment, a local study noted. … The instant case described an adolescent who allegedly sexually abused another schoolboy in the context of previously undiagnosed ADHD. Child sexual abuse is the involvement of children and adolescents…
Read MoreSingapore: No reason to raise age limit above 50 for caning sex offenders
Source: theindependent.sg 9/14/21 Singapore — Member of Parliament Murali Pillai (PAP – Bukit Batok) said that serious sex offenders should still be caned regardless of their age because this would be a stronger deterrent against such offences. Speaking in Parliament on Monday (Sept 13), Mr Murali suggested that the current cut-off age of 50 years for caning serious sex offenders was “not fit for purpose.” He observed that middle-aged sex offenders tend to target younger victims; therefore, they should be strongly deterred from such actions. Read the full article
Read MoreCanada: Naked in river, but not guilty
Source: castanet.net 9/4/21 Naked man in river at Pioneer Park beach not indecent, judge rules naked in river, but not guilty A naked sex offender in the river at a busy downtown Kamloops beach this summer was not indecent, a judge has ruled, finding the Crown case against him too thin to convict. Kenneth Wickstrom stood trial on one count of committing an indecent act in a public place. The charge stemmed from an alleged incident at Pioneer Park in June in which the 66-year-old was accused of stripping naked…
Read MoreUK: Screwdriver held to man’s neck before he jumps from first floor over fake sex offender claims
Source: coventrytelegraph.net 9/2/21 A young man was punched repeatedly and told he would be stabbed with a screwdriver at the hands of two men who suspected he was a sex offender. Having been the subject of the “appalling attack” for around half an hour, the victim managed to make a run for it and, as he was so terrified, he jumped out of a first-floor window. He fractured his kneecap doing so and managed to crawl away to get help, despite one final effort by his attackers to drag him…
Read MoreIndia: ‘My crime is I fell in love’: should India rethink tough laws on underage sex?
Source: theguardian.com 8/24/21 Laws intended to tackle child abuse are resulting in young men in consensual relationships being imprisoned. Activists argue a more nuanced approach is needed Mani*, 21, began dating Noor*, 17, two years ago. They couldn’t see each other during the Covid lockdowns, but when restrictions began to ease, they would meet on the deserted banks of a canal in a small town in Tamil Nadu. The couple hoped to marry one day, but then Noor fell pregnant, and life turned into a nightmare. Two months ago, Mani…
Read MoreAustralia: Up to 3 years in prison for not reporting a “belief of sexual offending against a child”
Source: lexology.com 7/7/21 In brief – important development in Queensland’s child protection laws will take effect in term three. Recently, the Queensland Government, through the Criminal Code (Child Sexual Offences Reform) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld) (Amendment Act), has made several key amendments to the Queensland Criminal Code to provide greater protection to children from sexual abuse. In particular, the Amendment Act will, from 5 July 2021: make it an offence for any adult not to report a belief of sexual offending against a child by another adult…
Read MoreUK: Declan Lancaster started killer blaze after wrongly believing another man living there had a sex offense conviction
Source: sunderlandecho.com 7/2/21 A killer who sparked a deadly fire at his hostel after he wrongly concluded a man who lived there had a sex offense conviction in his past, has been jailed for life. By Karon Kelly Friday, 2nd July 2021, 2:49 pm Declan Lancaster, who had taken a cocktail of drink and drugs, started a blaze in a linen cupboard at Manor House in Sunderland on November 3, 2018, because he wanted to “scare and frighten” another tenant. Newcastle Crown Court heard as the flames took hold, Patryk…
Read MoreTrinidad and Tobago: AG proposes two registries for people with a sex offense
UPDATED 6/16/21: T&T Senate approves law to allow public to access sex offender website [radiojamaicanewsonline.com – 6/16/21] Source: newsday.co.tt 6/16/21 The Attorney General has proposed 22 amendments to the Act to amend the Sexual Offences Act, Chap. 11:28. Chief among these are the creation of two registers of people with a sexual offense. Speaking in the Senate on Tuesday, AG Faris Al-Rawi said the bill intended to create two registers: the National Sex Offense Register, which would be private and for the use of law enforcement only, and the Public…
Read MorePakistan: Standing committee approves chemical castration of sexual abusers
[thecurrent.pk – 6/5/21] National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law and Justice has approved chemical castration, which falls in the Criminal Law bill. As per the Criminal Law Bill 2020, if the accused commits the crime again after serving a life sentence, he will be sentenced to chemical castration. Under this law, special court, anti-rape crises cell, and special committee would be set up to hear rape cases and registered complaints. … Regarding chemical castration, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Nafisa Shah said it is inhuman under the law. The law for…
Read MoreUK: Irvine Team Shades members charged for ‘disturbance’ of person convicted of a sexual offense
[irvinetimes.com – 6/2/21] Two members of an Irvine peadophile hunting group have now been charged after a person convicted of a sex offense was led away from a house by the hand. A 28-year-old man was arrested this week and later charged following an alleged disturbance in Aberfeldy Terrace back in April 27. A woman aged 30 was later charged for alleged stalking yesterday [Tuesday, June 1] with both now due to face the charges in court. Read the full article
Read MoreSouth Africa: Adoption of two bills to curb gender-based violence in SA welcomed
[www.iol.co.za – 5/31/21] Cape Town – Civil society organisations have welcomed the adoption of two pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening laws fighting gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). … He said the bill aimed to expand the scope of the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) to include the particulars of sex offenders and not only sex offenders against children and persons who were mentally disabled. Read the full article
Read MorePhilippines: Senate approves bill on tougher crackdown vs online child sex abuse
[rappler.com – 5/27/21] Senators approved on final reading a bill that would expand government protections against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children. On Thursday, May 27, a total of 23 senators voted to pass Senate Bill (SB) No. 2209 or the proposed Special Protections against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Act. No senator voted against the bill or abstained from the vote. SB 2209 provides a comprehensive list identifying which acts constitute online sexual abuse of children. … The bill would also give additional tools to law…
Read MoreIndia: Can rehab for people convicted of a sex offense help combat sexual violence?
[theweek.in] Sexual violence and the fear of sexual abuse has a profound and devastating effect on not only individuals, but entire communities. According to the 2019 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 32,033 rape cases were registered across India; that is an average of 88 cases every day. Since the Nirbhaya gang rape in 2012, public outrage has led to more punitive measures to combat sexual violence, and keeping people convicted of a sex offense in prison for longer seems like an appealing resolve. However, in reality,…
Read MoreMalta: Prisoners are encouraged to complete rehab programmes based on their individual needs
[independent.com.mt – 5/23/21] Speculation over the quality and quantity of rehabilitation programmes available for prisoners in Malta has been the at the centre of many debates. The Malta Independent on Sunday contacted the Ministry for Home Affairs to get to the bottom of things. According to the Correctional Services Agency (CSA), since February 2020, “every new admission is assessed by Care, Reintegration and Education Unit (CRU) personnel […] who create a tailored plan according to the person’s individual needs.” The CSA consists of medical officers, social workers, psychologists and care…
Read MoreUganda: Convicted homosexuals to be included in Uganda sex offender registry
[76crimes.com – 5/7/21] Ugandans convicted of having sex with people of the same sex would be included in a new sex offender registry, following the passage by Parliament of a new anti-gay bill May 4. If the bill is signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni, people convicted under provisions of the Sexual Offences Bill, 2019 would be entered for life into a publicly accessible sex offenders registry. The database would be hosted by the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) and would be accessible by security agencies, health insurance…
Read MoreSouth Africa: Warning against making register for sex offenders public
[www.iol.co.za – 5/7/21] Pretoria – The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has warned against calls to make public the national register for sex offenders. It is believed that making the register public would curb sexual offences against children, but according to the department, this would fuel mob justice against perpetrators. … Department spokesperson Steve Mahlangu said publicising the register could not be done without violating the right to privacy of an individual, as enshrined in the Bill of Rights. “There are also dangers of the register being used unjustifiably…
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