Source: westsidecurrent.com 6/5/25 VENICE — A man accused of breaking into the apartment of an 86-year-old woman at a Venice senior housing complex with alleged intentions to sexually assault her has a history of parole violations and criminal convictions — including failure to register as a transient sex offender — raising new alarms about the intersection of homelessness, registration laws, and public safety in Los Angeles. … The case comes just as a new national study is shedding light on what researchers say is a little-discussed but increasingly urgent problem:…
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GOP Senator Introduces Bill to Make All Porn a Federal Crime, Following Project 2025 Playbook
Source: gizmodo.com 5/12/25 ‘Mike Lee wants to deliver a death knell to PornHub. Last year, the rightwing think-tank the Heritage Foundation launched Project 2025, which laid out much of the policy blueprint for the current Trump administration. One of the project’s espoused goals was to permanently criminalize all pornography. Now, a Republican senator with kind words for Trump has introduced a bill that would do just that. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) recently introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act (IODA), which would effectively criminalize all pornography nationwide by legally redefining what it means to be obscene.…
Read MoreSex Offenders: An Overlooked but Significant Subpopulation of the Homeless [paper]
Source: ciceroinstitute.org 4/28/25 Executive Summary The homeless population in the United States is very diverse. Over the last decade, scholars have made considerable progress in advancing our understanding of the various subpopulations and the myriad drivers of homelessness that are associated with each. But even as researchers have found a history of criminal offending in a sizeable proportion of homeless people, analyses of criminal history and homelessness remain simplistic and underdeveloped. Homeless sex offenders present a special case of interest within this subpopulation because of their unique set of social…
Read MoreAll Gmail users at risk from clever “law enforcement” replay attack
Source: malwarebytes.com 4/22/25 [ACSOL note: We registrants can be fearful of law enforcement and this scam plays on our fears.] Cybercriminals are abusing Google’s infrastructure, creating emails that appear to come from Google in order to persuade people into handing over their Google account credentials. This attack, first flagged by Nick Johnson, the lead developer of the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), a blockchain equivalent of the popular internet naming convention known as the Domain Name System (DNS). Nick received a very official looking security alert about a subpoena allegedly issued to…
Read MorePlease consider being a member of their newly formed Sentence Impact Advisory Group (SIAG)
Source: United States Sentencing Commission [Janice asks you to seriously consider being a member to have an impact on sentencing] The Commission has a number of existing advisory groups that provide important stakeholder perspective on issues relating to federal sentencing. Most recently, the Commission added an advisory group named the Sentence Impact Advisory Group (SIAG) to bring the perspectives of individuals affected by federal sentencing into the Commission’s work. Click here to go to the list of advisory groups. Scroll down to Sentence Impact Advisory Group to read more Click…
Read MoreMO: Amid Calls to Reform Bail, Judges in St. Louis Embrace Ankle Monitors
Source: nytimes.com 4/10/25 Proponents say the devices have helped address inequities in the criminal justice system. But many defendants have experienced unintended consequences. In the heat of an argument last spring, Khyla Mason raised a handgun into the air on a neighbor’s porch. She was acting in self-defense, she said, and never fired, but the confrontation was captured on video, and some children were nearby. Ms. Mason wound up in a St. Louis jail charged with unlawful use of a weapon. Just a few years ago, someone facing the same…
Read MoreGA: Georgia man jailed in McKean Co. for alleged scam against registered sex offender
Source: oleantimesherald.com 4/3/25 BRADFORD, Pa. — A Georgia man is in McKean County Jail, charged for allegedly impersonating a cop to scam a registered sex offender out of $1,000. Rashawn Scott, 33, of Claxton, Ga., is charged with identity theft, a third-degree felony; theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking, theft by extortion and receiving stolen property, all first-degree misdemeanors; impersonating a public servant, a second-degree misdemeanor; and furnishing false information, a third-degree misdemeanor. According to the criminal complaint, on Aug. 23, 2022, a Bradford man registered on the state…
Read MoreKS: Kansas lawmakers push for HB 2164 law restricting sex offenders from schools
Source: kshb.com 3/25/25 LIBERTY, Mo. — Schools in Kansas and Missouri differ in more ways than just the state line dividing them. Kansas has never had a state law restricting certain sex offenders from being on school property. In addition, Kansas doesn’t have residency restrictions. Lawmakers in Kansas want that to change. Senate Sub for HB 2164 passed the Kansas Senate by a vote of 37-3 on Thursday. The bill was proposed by Kansas Sen. Kellie Warren after parents in the Blue Valley School District made complaints about a registered sex…
Read MoreFL: The village of sex offenders
Source: bbc.com 3/12/25 Set among endless sugar-cane fields in a remote part of southern Florida, Restoration Destination is a community made up of registered sex offenders. Created by a Christian ministry as a response to state laws which ban them from living close to where children gather, it is now home to more than 100 men who have been placed on Florida’s sex offenders register for life. Through therapy, counselling and support, Restoration Destination aims to reduce their likelihood of reoffending and help them reintegrate into society. Journalist Conor Garrett…
Read MoreTX: ‘Audrii’s Law’ aims to close loophole in sex offender registry
Source: msn.com 3/25/25 In Austin on Tuesday, the family of Audrii Cunningham strongly urged Texas lawmakers to support a bill that would strengthen sex offender registration laws. … Through tears, Munsch pleaded with lawmakers to support Audrii’s Law. The law would add child grooming to the list of crimes that require registration as a sex offender, closing a so-called “loophole” that allows some offenders to avoid the registry altogether. Read the full article
Read MoreND: Senate passes bill studying length of time on sex offender registry
Source: kfyrtv.com 3/28/25 BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – People who are considered “low-risk” sex offenders are required to be registered for at least 15 years. A House bill looks to see if that’s too long. Originally, House Bill 1231 called for the minimum to be at seven years before you could petition for removal. Senators amended the bill to make it a study to figure out if any lowering is appropriate. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee say there was too much debate to be confident in enacting immediate change. “We…
Read MoreNJ: New Jersey sees 74% increase in child pornography arrests since 2020
Source: whyy.org 3/17/25 The state’s top law enforcement agent to those possessing and distributing child porn: If you harm our kids, we’re going to catch and prosecute you. The number of people charged with possession of child pornography is rising in New Jersey. During a news conference Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Matt Platkin, the chief law enforcement agent in the Garden State, said over the past several years there has been an uptick in reports of the number of tips about suspected predatory activity online, which has led to…
Read MoreID: Idaho governor signs into law child sex abuse death penalty bill, despite U.S. Supreme Court ruling
Source: idahocapitalsun.com 3/27/25 Widely supported in the Idaho Legislature, the bill is likely to face a constitutional challenge, lawmakers acknowledge. But they are hopeful law will prevail. Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to make people who sexually abuse young children in Idaho eligible for the death penalty. House Bill 380 will allow the death penalty in a new criminal charge the bill creates: aggravated lewd conduct with children age 12 and younger. The bill also would add mandatory minimum prison sentences for cases of aggravated lewd…
Read MoreMO: Missouri Files Final Brief in Halloween Sign Challenge
Source: ACSOL The State of Missouri filed its final brief today in the pending federal case that challenges the state’s Halloween sign law. The next step in the litigation process is oral argument before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. No date has yet been set for oral argument, however, the parties must be provided at least 30 days prior notice. “In its brief, the State of Missouri continues to repeat its claim that the law that requires all registrants to post a sign at their residence on Halloween is…
Read MoreGA: Georgia Suggests Making Sex Offender Registry Removal More Confusing
Source: filtermag.org 3/27/25 Georgia is weighing legislation that would make it more difficult for people on the state’s sex offender registry (SOR) to get off it, as well as to relocate—whether attempting to move in from out of state or move from one part of the state to another. Personally I’m more interested in getting out of Georgia, but that’s beyond the scope of HB 430. The bill pertains to registrants trying to move to a new county, potentially as they’re getting off the SOR. As of March 26, it appears to be in the…
Read MoreMI: A huge win in Michigan: U.S. District Court found that the registry is punishment!
Source: Florida Action Committee 3/27/25 This is big news: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled the state can’t enforce the entirety of its 2021 version of the law against offenders who committed their crimes before July 1, 2011. And the Court found that the registry is punishment! Read the decision and more on FAC’s website
Read MoreMD: Lawmakers consider proposal to reduce potential of billions in sex abuse payouts
Source: marylandmatters.org 3/25/25 Supporters and opponents brace for courtroom fight if bill passes Facing the potential of multibillion-dollar payouts, lawmakers will consider legislation this week that would limit the state’s liability under the 2023 Child Victims Act. But advocates, legal experts and, not unexpectedly, attorneys for one group of nearly 5,000 plaintiffs who claim to have been sexually abused at the hands of state workers, say the proposed fix goes too far, and is likely unconstitutional. Even Del. C.T. Wilson (D-Charles), the author of both the original bill and…
Read MoreIL: Bill proposes halving distance between sex offenders and schools to 250 feet
Source: mystateline.com 3/17/25 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — A new bill proposed in Illinois would reduce the distance convicted sex offenders are required to observe when living near schools. Senate Bill 2254, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford (D-Chicago), would reduce the distance sex offenders are required to stay from schools and playgrounds from 500 feet to 250 feet. Read the full article [Action alert for Illinois registrants and supporters: Call, write, and show up as soon as possible to support this bill to increase housing choices for registrants]
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