The public got a chance Monday to weigh in on three proposals that would change Connecticut’s criminal justice system in very different ways. One proposal would change which sex offenders would have to continue to appear on the sex offender registry; another proposes a constitutional amendment on pretrial release and detention, and a third would reduce a state sentence for a misdemeanor offense by one day to prevent more severe immigration consequences. Full Article
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FL: Inside the Remote, Little-Known Sanctuary for Sex Offenders
Seen from a distance, perhaps from a low-flying helicopter, or standing a few hundred feet away on a road that cuts through the green sugarcane surrounding it, Miracle Village, in Central Florida outside of Pahokee, looks like it could be a modest retirement community. Perhaps a modern-day off-the-grid commune, carved from a little spot of remote farmland. Miracle Village, though, is neither. It is a community devoted entirely to housing convicted sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreMI: Zachery Anderson denied termination of probation
For someone who probably should not have been prosecuted in the first place, Zach Anderson is certainly continuing to get a raw deal from the system. Now 22, when Zach was 19 he had sex with someone he met on line who claimed she was 17. Turns out she was only 14. Even though she admitted to lying about her age, Zach was sentenced to jail time, probation and 25 years on Michigan’s sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreInternet Censorship Bills Wouldn’t Help Catch Sex Traffickers
[Electronic Frontier Foundation] In the most illuminating part of last week’s House subcommittee hearing on the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA, H.R. 1865), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agent Russ Winkler explained how he uses online platforms—particularly Backpage—to fight online sex trafficking. Winkler painted a fascinating picture of agents on his team posing as johns, gaining trust with traffickers, and apprehending them. His testimony demonstrated how, with proper training and resources, law enforcement officers can navigate the online platforms where sex work takes place…
Read MoreDon’t Rush New Sexual Harassment Policies, Some Women Lawmakers Warn
[governing.com] One of the top agenda items for state legislatures next year will be to address the rampant sexual harassment in state capitols. Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have been accused of sexual harassment — or worse — since the #metoo movement took off in mid-October. But several women in the Illinois legislature, which has already passed new laws in response to the outcry, caution that lawmakers should take their time when writing new sexual harassment policies. “When you’re in crisis mode, you tend to move quickly. I…
Read MoreMD: Theater cancels ‘A Christmas Carol’ after revelation that Scrooge actor is convicted sex offender
Faced with the revelation that their lead actor was a convicted sex offender and fearing the possibility of protests, the Fells Point Corner Theatre and the Collaborative Theatre Company have canceled their production of “A Christmas Carol,” which was scheduled to open Friday. Full Article
Read MoreIN: Justices to decide if sex offender’s internet restriction unconstitutional
After being convicted of incest with his teenage niece, a Tippecanoe County man’s sentence contained several probation conditions, including a prohibition on accessing websites “frequented by children” and a prohibition on internet use without prior approval. Those conditions are the subject of an appeal now under review by the Indiana Supreme Court, which will decide whether the conditions, as applied, are unconstitutional. During oral arguments Thursday in Kristopher Weida v. State of Indiana, 79S02-1711-CR-00687, Brian Karle, counsel for Weida, argued against the constitutionality of the probation conditions, telling the justices the…
Read MoreVA: Forcing kid to masturbate for cops in sexting case was wrong, court finds
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in favor of a Virginia man who, as a teen, was once ordered by a lower court to be photographed while masturbating in the presence of armed police officers. Full Article
Read MoreTN: Law Leaves Many Schools Afraid to Teach Sexual Abuse Prevention
Teachers and school systems fear running afoul of the gateway law, which allows teachers to be fined up to $500 for discussing “gateway sexual activity” in the classroom. Full Article
Read MoreOR: After 15 years, ex-lawyer branded as child molester wins a reversal
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed the conviction of a former lawyer who was found guilty in 2002 of sexually touching a 10-year-old girl in the kitchen of a McMinnville home, in a case riddled with questionable evidence. Although Bradley Christopher Holbrook has already served a 6 ¼-year prison sentence, the reversal means he will no longer be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and carry that stigma. It also means that he won’t be a convicted felon anymore and could…
Read MorePA: Legislature to address Pa’s sex offender registration laws
A bill introduced this week in Harrisburg attempts to fix flaws in the state’s sex-offender registration system identified in a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in July and could affect more than 10,000 registrants. Full Article
Read MoreNH: Public pool can’t ban sex offender
PORTSMOUTH — City Attorney Robert Sullivan confirmed he recently met with a group of people who are concerned because a registered sex offender has been using the Portsmouth Indoor Pool. The pool, located near the high school, is used by community members and youth and school swim teams. After the meeting, Sullivan said, he reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire to get its input. “The actions which the city might be able to take or which the city might be prevented from taking would be…
Read MoreCO: Town of Palisade lowers fee sex offenders are required to pay to register
[thedenverchannel.com] PALISADE, Colo. – In a move designed to encourage compliance from offenders, the town of Palisade has lowered the fees associated with registering as a sex offender. The decision to lower the fee from $75 a year to $25 a year was made earlier this month by the Board of Trustees, Denver7 news partner KJCT reported. The Palisade Police Department asked the board to lower the fee on behalf of offenders, who may be dissuaded to register because of the financial burden. The reduction of fees is not expected…
Read MoreMA: Lawmakers consider shining light on secret sex offenders
Secret sex offenders could soon be forced out of the shadows in Massachusetts. The state considers Level 1 sex offenders a low risk to re-offend so information about them is not available to the public, but a bill under consideration on Beacon Hill would allow people to find out if a specific person is a Level 1 offender or if a Level 1 offender lives at a particular address. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Former sex offender challenges residence restrictions
On Oct. 2, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in Snyder v Doe, a decision from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said that Michigan’s sex offender registration law violated the Ex Post Facto Clause’s ban on retroactive punishment. The law restricted where former sex offenders could live. The 6th Circuit is at odds with many other opinions that have rejected constitutional challenges to sex offender laws, but that didn’t convince the Supreme Court to take the case. The court invited the Solicitor General…
Read MoreParole violations are driving prison’s revolving door
[Richmond Times-Dispatch] (The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Shawn D. Bushway, University at Albany, State University of New York and David J. Harding, University of California, Berkeley (THE CONVERSATION) Rapper Meek Mill is back in prison in Pennsylvania for violating the terms of his probation. According to officials, Mill left the state without permission, did not meet with his probation officer, tested positive for Percocet, failed to complete community service and got into a fight at an airport. Mill’s case…
Read MoreOK: Tenth Circuit COA upholds Oklahoma driver’s license requirement
[NARSOL] By Robin . . . Unpersuaded by the court-appointed counsel’s encouragement to read a prison inmate’s pro se lawsuit liberally enough to include a First Amendment complaint, the Tenth Circuit has affirmed a lower Court’s judgment dismissing a challenge to Oklahoma’s requirement that citizens convicted of an “aggravated sex offense” must have their driver’s licenses (and state-issued identification cards) stamped with the words “Sex Offender.” The National Association of Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL), represented by John J. Korzen (Wake Forest School of Law) was joined by its state…
Read MoreIL: Sex offender back in court on internet access issue
A Normal man whose sexual abuse case is at the center of a legal debate over whether sex offenders should have access to the internet was back in court Monday, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review his case. Full Article
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