Source: cleveland.com 4/26/24 Dear Amy: I have a neighbor who was previously convicted of a sexual offense involving a “child.” He served time in jail. I don’t know the exact circumstances, but I do understand that the term “child” may include a person as young as an infant and as old as a teenager. The sexual offender is married with two young children. I know that he and his wife want to keep his history private. However, the other neighbors around where I live are not aware of the situation…
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Country Music Star Jimmie Allen Says He Contemplated Suicide Following Sexual Abuse Allegations
Source: hollywoodreporter.com 4/24/24 Jimmie Allen revealed he contemplated suicide following the sexual abuse allegations against him last year as a way to financially provide for his family. In May 2023, the country music artist’s former manager, identified only as Jane Doe, alleged he raped and sexually abused her several times. In a statement released at the time, Allen claimed the two had a consensual sexual relationship that lasted for two years. “It is deeply troubling and hurtful that someone I counted as one of my closest friends, colleagues and confidants would make allegations…
Read MoreWI: Seventh Circuit considers challenges to Wisconsin sex offender laws
Source: courthousenews.com 4/18/24 One case challenged who gets defined as a sex offender, while another raised questions about where sex offenders can feasibly live while on supervised release. MADISON, Wis. (CN) — The Badger State’s sex offender laws faced scrutiny on Thursday, with a Seventh Circuit panel hearing back-to-back arguments against them in the state capital. The first two cases of the day were brought by people listed on the Wisconsin sex offender registry. Plaintiffs in both cases argued — through the same attorney but for very different reasons…
Read MoreNew Title IX Rules Erase Campus Due Process Protections
Source: reason.com 4/19/24 The new rules allow students to be found guilty of assaulting a classmate without ever seeing the full evidence against them. On Friday, the Biden administration unveiled final Title IX regulations, nearly two years after the administration proposed dramatic changes to how colleges handle sexual assault allegations. The new rules largely mirror proposed regulations released last year and will effectively reversing Trump-era due process reforms. According to the final regulations, accused students will lose their right to a guaranteed live hearing with the opportunity to have a…
Read MoreNY: Concerned Watertown mom wants increased residency restrictions
Source: thedailynewsonline.com 4/19/24 WATERTOWN — A mother of a 4-year-old boy had no idea that a registered sex offender who was convicted of sexually abusing three children was living next to her and across the street from a home day care business. The young mother, Sierra Penrose, is now working on reviving a state Senate bill that would prohibit sex offenders from living near such daycares. The bill, which was first proposed a decade ago, hasn’t gained traction, even though it’s been reintroduced several times. The proposed legislation would…
Read MoreNE: Nebraska lawmakers pass a bill to restore voting rights to newly released felons
Source: apnews.com 4/12/24 OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill Thursday to restore the voting rights of those convicted of felonies upon the completion of their sentences, including prison and parole time. The bill, introduced for years by Omaha state Sen. Justin Wayne, passed by a wide margin in the last year of Wayne’s second term. He is barred by term limits from running this year for a third term. Currently, a person who has been convicted of a felony must wait two years after completing all the…
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 MoreFL: Sexual assault survivor demands change as federal data shows rise in cases aboard cruise ships
Source: news4jax.com 4/7/24 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A sexual assault survivor is demanding cruise lines do more to protect their customers as new federal data shows sexual assaults rose on cruise ships in 2023. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported more than 100 sex crimes on ships embarking and disembarking in the U.S. In February 2006, Laurie Dishman said her life changed forever after booking a cruise from California to Mexico with her best friend Michelle. “We had boarded the ship and didn’t know what awaited us, we just thought we…
Read MoreNH: Former teacher pleads guilty to sexually assaulting an adult student in 2021
Source: wmur.com 4/2/24 [ACSOL is posting this showing a new law where the victim’s age not a factor] BRENTWOOD, N.H. —A New Hampshire teacher of the year finalist pleaded guilty Tuesday to sexual assault charges involving a student at a school where she worked. Former Sanborn Regional High School teacher Bridgette _____, 40, admitted sexually assaulting an 18-year-old student in April and May 2021. The case involves a relatively new law in which the age of the victim isn’t a factor, even if the student is an adult. The law…
Read MoreCO: Neighbors protest facility run by Colorado mental health agency over sex offender claims
Source: cbsnews.com 4/6/24 Northglenn neighbors were out in their community to voice their opposition to a mental health facility run by the state of Colorado. which is set to open in a residential area. They say their biggest concern is that there may be sex offenders housed near families’ homes and schools. “If places like this are going to be coming into our communities, the people who live here need to know about it, and we want to have a say in it,” said Danielle Luciano. Read the full article (Write and…
Read MoreIL: Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Law Limiting Where Child Sex Offenders Can Live
Source: wttw.com 4/6/24 SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that a state law restricting where previously convicted child sex offenders can live is constitutional, although it left open the possibility that it was improperly applied to one individual. In a 6-0 decision, the court found the residency restriction “does not infringe upon a child sex offender’s fundamental rights” and that there was a “rational basis” for the state to restrict where a person convicted of such a crime can live. “The legislature has a legitimate interest in protecting…
Read MoreLA: Proposal to make vasectomy mandatory for convicted sex offenders advances to the House
Source: wdsu.com 4/5/24 BATON ROUGE, La. —The mandatory vasectomy bill passed committee at the state capitol Thursday. HB 166 would require convicted sex offenders to undergo a mandatory vasectomy procedure. The author of the bill, Rep. Delisha Boyd, says this is a measure to help protect women. Rep. Boyd also wrote a bill to reduce penalties for possession or use of marijuana drug paraphernalia, proposing the offender should not be fined more than $100. Read the full article
Read MoreWI: Gov. Tony Evers signs law requiring more sex offenders to be placed on registry for life
Source: jsonline.com 4/2/24 MADISON – Wisconsinites convicted of multiple counts of a sex offense will be required to register as sex offenders for life even if the counts were part of the same incident, under a bill signed by Gov. Tony Evers. The law effectively nullifies a 2023 state Supreme Court ruling holding that multiple convictions stemming from the same criminal complaint do not necessarily classify someone as a repeat offender. The governor’s signature brings resolution to a question officials have debated for years. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled…
Read MoreMO: St. Louis City firefighter found dead after charges filed
Source: firstalert4.com 3/28/24 [ACSOL is posting this to show how violation of trust by a person in public service can be especially devastating on multiple levels] ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – A St. Louis City firefighter accused of possessing videos of child sexual abuse material was found dead Thursday, investigators said. Prosecutors charged 50-year-old Jarret ____ on Thursday with two counts of possessing more than 20 photos or videos of child pornography, a class B felony. … St. Charles City police confirmed on Friday that Jarret was found…
Read MoreOR: Sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) for the crime of public indecency
Source: law.justia.com 3/28/24 [ACSOL is posting this as an example of extreme sentencing] In a case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the petitioner, Terry Eugene Iversen, appealed the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Iversen had been sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) for the crime of public indecency under Oregon’s sex offender recidivism statute due to his extensive criminal history, which included prior convictions for public indecency, rape, and sodomy. Iversen argued that…
Read MoreFL: Convicted sex offender who hacked jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium gets 220 years
Source: ajc.com 3/26/24 [ACSOL is showing you this pay-only article as an example of extreme sentencing] JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A convicted child molester has been sentenced to 220 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material and hacking the jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium after the team learned he was a registered sex offender and fired him. A federal judge in Jacksonville sentenced 53-year-old Samuel Arthur Thompson, of St. Augustine, on Monday, according to court records. He was convicted in November of producing, receiving and possessing…
Read MoreMO: Louisiana Bill SB371 to allow judges to sentence child sex offender with surgical castration advances
Source: louisianaradionetwork.com 3/26/24 A bill SB371 to give judges the discretion to punish individuals who sexually assault a child with surgical castration advances from Senate Judiciary C. Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow’s bill allows for the sentencing of surgical castration if the victim is under the age of 13. “This would allow a judge to impose a sentencing that may require them to be surgically castrated. And this would actually happen before they are released from prison,” said Barrow. Lake Charles Senator Mark Abraham said he has a problem with…
Read MoreMO: Conviction of certain sex crimes could land perpetrators on Missouri’s sex offender registry permanently (SB 656)
Source: missourinet.com 3/27/24 The state Senate is looking at a bill (SB 656) sponsored by Sen. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, that would modify Missouri’s sex offender registry. Certain tier one offenders who are convicted of abusing kids would be moved to a tier three, classified as the most severe sex crimes, and would be on the list for life. “This is a change in the sexual offender registry language in our state statutes moving some tier one offenders into tier three, specifically around abusing kids and the several provisions in…
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