A Wisconsin judge wasn’t required to tell a man he would face a lifetime of GPS monitoring upon pleading guilty to child sex crimes because such monitoring is a public safety measure, not a form of punishment, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday. Full Article
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WA: Probationer Wins Washington Supreme Court Case on Pornography
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/17/18] A convicted sex offender in Washington challenged a provision of his probation that prevented him from “possessing or accessing pornographic materials” and won! The definition of “pornographic materials”, he argued, is unconstitutionally vague. It could mean watching the film Titanic, or having a Victoria’s Secret catalogue. The Court agreed, finding, “the statute must “give the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what [behavior] is prohibited.” Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108. Second, the law must provide explicit standards to those charged with enforcing the law in…
Read MoreFL: Ron Books Lobbying Firm Rakes in the Cash from Private Prison Companies
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/17/18] Florida’s lobby firms filed their first quarter results this week and the three-person firm of Ronald L. Book, P.A. came in as one of the highest paid lobbying firms in the State, behind much larger firms Ballard and 200-person firm, Southern Strategy Group. According to the firm’s first quarter report, filed Tuesday, Ron Book’s firm took in $3.4Million for lobbying legislators during the period of January 01, 2018 – March 31, 2018, (source: https://floridalobbyist.gov) Among his top clients… private, for-profit, prison companies GEO Group and Correct Care Solutions,…
Read MoreUse copyright law to battle mugshot extortion
[abajournal.com 3/27/18] After her DUI charge was dropped, Julie Cantu thought her nightmare was over. Then, she went on a date. Over dinner, Cantu’s would-be-suitor was asking questions anyone asks on a first date. Then he asked about her criminal record. Caught off-guard by the question, she thought about the dropped charge. Her blood alcohol had been 0.021, well below the legal limit of 0.08, and she had no other contact with the law. How did her date know? After getting home, the Florida resident and retired nurse went online…
Read MoreFL: New Encampment, “Bookville V”, already has 75 “residents”
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/16/18] As Legal Services of Greater Miami attorney Jeffrey Hearne cautioned the Judge and the media less than one week ago; unless something is done (about the 2500 foot exclusion zone) new encampments will pop up and “the cycle will continue.” It took less than a week after hundreds of registrants were evicted from a warehouse district along the railroad tracks near Hialeah for a new encampment to emerge; “Bookville V”, is named after lobbyist Ron Book, the man who not only created the laws that force sex offenders…
Read MoreAfter-School Baby-Sitter Requirements: “Must Have FBI Background Check”
[letgrow.org 5/14/18] What does it take to qualify as a babysitter these days? Dear Let Grow: My 15 year-old daughter joined an online babysitter’s group to get more summer work gigs. It has been an eye opening experience as to parental expectations. She has multiple family references, straight A’s, and is WONDERFUL with children, especially keeping the kids active. She also cooks and does chores during naps, like laundry and cleaning. I will NOT be paying for an FBI background check. Whatever happened to “Must love kids”? Here is one…
Read MorePA: Sex offender: ‘I am not a monster’
[abc27.com 5/15/18] HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A man we will call “Tony” first sat down with ABC27 News in November to talk about what it’s like being a registered sex offender. “There were many times I tried to commit suicide,” Tony said. “I am not a monster like people portray.” The former combat medic and EMT says being on the registry for his child pornography conviction only prevents him, and others like him, from moving on with life and becoming productive citizens. “When I first got on [the list], I…
Read MoreKS: Gov. Jeff Colyer signs bill to compensate wrongfully convicted in Kansas
[hutchnews.com 5/15/18] KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Gov. Jeff Colyer stood on Tuesday in the modest sanctuary of Mount Zion Church of God in Christ to belatedly draw the hands of justice closer to Lamonte McIntyre, Richard Jones, Floyd Bledsoe and any other Kansan wrongfully convicted of a crime. Bledsoe, of Burrton, along with the other men spent a minimum of 16 years in institutions operated by the Kansas Department of Corrections for serious offenses they didn’t commit. Each was part of a coordinated effort to build bipartisan support in the…
Read MoreFL: Sex Offender Homeless Camps in Miami-Dade County
[UPDATED LINKS 5/15/18] [cbslocal.com 5/13/18] Ron Book, the chairman of the Homeless Trust joins Jim DeFede to debate the ongoing problem in Miami Dade County where sex offenders are living in homeless camps Watch the video Related links: FAC Letter to Jim DeFede and CBS [floridaactioncommittee.org 5/14/18] A Heartless Man Without A Soul [blog.womenagainstregistry.org 5/16/18]
Read MoreOR: Let ________ live his life: Letter to the editor
[oregonlive.com 5/11/12] _______ should be given the opportunity to live his life (“Oregon State’s _______ denies molesting girl, says ‘nothing ever happened,’ ” May 7). The accusations and subsequent punishment he received is enough. This story has received national attention and there seems to be a vicious campaign by the accuser’s mother to make him pay for this transgression for the rest of his life. This is brutally unfair and begs the question, “Why does she hold onto so much hatred?” Read more
Read MoreFL: Police Move Remaining Homeless Sex Offenders Out Of Encampment
[nbcmiami.com 5/12/18] All of the homeless sex offenders living in a make-shift encampment in northwest Miami-Dade have been moved out of the area, police say. Dozens of sex offenders and predators were residing in tents near NW 71st Street and 36th Avenue due to a Miami-Dade ordinance that required registered sex offenders to live about 2500 feet away from schools and child-care centers. The make-shift homes are within those parameters, but the Florida Department of Health determined the homes were a health hazard and unsanitary living spaces. “At night, there’s…
Read MoreMS: Some People to Be Removed From Mississippi Sex Offender List
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — About 30 people will be removed from Mississippi’s sex offender list after the state agreed that people convicted under a Louisiana law no longer have to register. However, the legal challenge continues for at least one man who’s on the registry because of convictions under Mississippi’s own statute banning consensual oral and anal sex. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Judge removes former Steubenville football player from sex offender list
[10tv.com 5/11/18] COLUMBUS, Ohio A judge on Friday ordered that an ex-Ohio high school football player convicted of rape be removed from the state’s sex offender registry for juveniles, as allowed by law. The ruling by Judge Thomas Lipps came in the case of Ma’Lik Richmond, a former Steubenville High School football player who in 2013 was convicted of raping a 16-year-old West Virginia girl at a party that followed a football scrimmage the previous year. Richmond served a one-year sentence and later rejoined the Steubenville football team. Now 21,…
Read MoreVA: Sex Offender Kicked Out of Meeting Sues Stafford County School Board
[nbcwashington.com 5/10/18] A registered sex offender has filed a lawsuit against the school board and a deputy in Stafford, County, Virginia, claiming his First Amendment rights were violated when he was kicked out of a meeting. Melvin Allen was convicted in 2004 of attempting to take indecent liberties with children in an online chat room. He served 30 days in jail. As a registered sex offender, Allen is prohibited from being on a school campus. In 2016, a school in Stafford County asked Allen to pick up his sick grandson…
Read MoreFL: Update: Miami-Dade Encampment
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/11/18] Registrants are still at the Miami-Dade Encampment. Some, because their GPS monitoring will trigger if they leave the area (probation has them designated to) and they don’t want to violate probation and go back to prison for that. Others, because they realize there’s noplace for them to go and they will be violating the overnight camping ordinance wherever they are, so might as well stay put. News crews are on site, waiting for enforcement action. This NBC6 video is from earlier this AM, where you can still see…
Read MoreUnintended Consequences: Sex Offenders in Motels
[nbcchicago.com 5/7/18] In April of 2014, a 5-year-old girl was playing with her brothers on the grounds of the Econo Lodge in Terre Haute, Indiana, where she was staying with her family, when a man grabbed her, took her into his motel room, hit her, pulled off her clothes, and molested her. Court records show that the man, Timothy Blazier, 50, was a recently paroled, twice-convicted child-molester. He’d been living at the Econo Lodge for three months when he molested the 5-year-old girl. He’s now back in prison, serving a…
Read MoreFL: Central Florida YMCA to screen members for sex offenders
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/11/18] ORLANDO, Fla. – The YMCA of Central Florida announced to its members that it will begin screening all members and guests to see if they’re registered sex offenders before being let inside their buildings. The announcement came in the form of a letter sent to members signed by Chief Operating Officer Daniel Ickes. Ickes sent an explanation to News 6. “At the YMCA of Central Florida, there is nothing more important to us than the safety and security of our members, staff and volunteers. For that reason, we…
Read MoreFL: Homeless sex offenders lose court fight to keep Hialeah tent camp. Where to next?
[amp.miamiherald.com 5/10/18] A Miami-Dade judge on Thursday cleared the way for the county to dismantle a tent village of homeless sex offenders outside Hialeah, and a lawyer for some of the residents said the ruling leaves them no choice but to live on a roadside or street somewhere else. “They’ll most likely be relocating to another street corner,” Legal Services lawyer Jeffrey Hearne said after the hearing before Judge Pedro Echarte Jr. in Circuit Court. “New encampments will pop up. And this cycle will continue.” Kendall residents have already been…
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