For 12 years, Miami-Dade’s registered sex offenders have been barred from living within 2,500 feet of any school, playground, or daycare. They’re effectively homeless by law, and today hundreds live in squalor in makeshift “tent cities” under bridges, near trailer parks, and on roadsides. After New Times reported on a camp near Hialeah, county officials called these encampments inhumane and unsanitary and promised a solution. That solution, though, apparently isn’t to amend the law or to find transitional housing. Two commissioners now want to simply put the offenders back in…
Read MoreCategory: National
PA: Appellate court finds ‘predator’ process unconstitutional
A panel of appellate judges ruled last week that Pennsylvania’s established process to designate a convicted sex offender as a “sexually violent predator” is unconstitutional. Full Article
Read MorePA: Ruling halts proceedings related to defendants facing sexually violent predator designations
The state Superior Court has handed down a ruling that put an immediate halt to all court proceedings related to defendants facing sexually violent predator designations. As the second ruling within several months to call the state’s current sexual offender statute into question, District Attorney John T. Adams said that it’s time to start fresh.”What we need now is a rewrite of our statutory scheme dealing with the sexual offenders registry,” he said. Full Article Note: this article appears to be for subscribers only. It may be readable after doing…
Read MoreFL: Arsonist burns down accused child molesters Pasco County home
The home of a Pasco County man accused of molesting a 7-year-old girl caught fire Thursday morning, and investigators say arson is to blame. Full Article
Read MoreIN: Sex offender faces felony over old ID card
A Blackford County sex offender faces a felony charge as a result of failing to keep his identification card up to date. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Woman may be first sex offender evicted as towns adopt exclusion zones
… Yet when she showed up to check in at the Meadows Place police station, she said police refused to register her as a resident and informed her she couldn’t live in her home. A city ordinance prohibited registered child sex offenders from living within a certain distance of places where children gathered; her house was too close to a city pool. “But I already live here,” she replied. “You can’t anymore,” she was told. In an unfolding legal battle, KJ stands to become the first Texas homeowner evicted from…
Read MoreJustice Department declares war on ACLU attorneys who oppose Trump
[slate.com] On Friday, the Department of Justice filed an astonishing appeal with the Supreme Court, urging the justices to intervene in the Jane Doe case that seemed to have ended last week. Doe, an undocumented 17-year-old in a federally funded Texas shelter, was denied abortion access by the Trump administration, which argues that it can force undocumented minors to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. On Oct. 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that Doe must be allowed to terminate her pregnancy, which she…
Read MoreShould Cruise Ships Allow Sexual Offenders to Sail?
[Huffington Post] Should cruise lines permit convicted sex offenders on their ships? Carnival the world’s largest cruise line is very careful, at least according to its website particular about who it will let on- if they are working on the ship as a vendor or crew member. According to Carnival’s website-it runs background checks at a seller expense which includes the following checks: Read more
Read MoreState Department revoking passports of child sex offenders
[NY Daily News] In compliance with a law passed last year, the federal government is curbing the liberties of convicted child sex offenders. On Wednesday, the State Department said it will begin revoking passports belonging to these individuals, forcing them to apply for a new document. Additionally, the updated passports will include a message on the inside back cover stating, “The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to (U.S. law).” Read more
Read MoreNC: Fayetteville police captain charged with failure to report sex offender noncompliance
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) — The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office has charged Fayetteville Police Captain ____ ____ with failure to report sex offender non-compliance. According to an arrest warrant, ____’s husband ____ ____, who is a registered sex offender, was with her at events with children present – which is a violation of his sex offender registry restrictions. Full Article
Read MoreNM: Two sex offender bills supported by Keller contained differences
SANTA FE – The 2011 sex offender legislation that’s surfaced as political ammunition against Tim Keller in Albuquerque’s mayoral race came about after repeated – and largely successful – lawsuits against New Mexico’s largest city for enacting local ordinances that went beyond what was then on the state’s books. Full Article
Read MoreU.S. Passports of Child Sex Offenders Will Note Their Convictions
[New York Times] The passports of Americans convicted of sex offenses against a child will soon bear a mark of their crimes. The State Department announced this week that a sentence noting their conviction would be added to the back inside cover of offenders’ passports. Once the State Department receives their names from the Department of Homeland Security, it will begin notifying affected sex offenders that their passports were being revoked and reissued with the new language. Smaller passport cards, which can be used only for very limited international travel,…
Read MoreIL: Sex offender charged with entering a school zone in Plainfield
A registered sex offender was charged with entering a school zone after he sought medical attention Oct. 25 at Plainfield East High School. Full Article
Read MoreOR: Staff told to report student sexual activity, including own kids
Salem-Keizer teachers and staff were recently told that when they learn, or suspect, a student is sexually active, they must report it to law enforcement or state officials. Full Article
Read MoreTrump administration reduces support for prisoner halfway houses
[Reuters] The administration of President Donald Trump has been quietly cutting support for halfway houses for federal prisoners, severing contracts with as many as 16 facilities in recent months, prompting concern that some inmates are being forced to stay behind bars longer than necessary. The Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman Justin Long confirmed the cuts in response to an email inquiry from Reuters, and said they only affect areas with small populations or underutilized centers. “The Bureau remains firmly committed to these practices, but has had to make some modifications…
Read MoreIN: Homeless sex offender living on jail property Sheriff hopes to monitor, motivate future offenders with new plan
A unique plan hatched by the Boone County Sheriff’s Office has lead to five homeless registered sex offenders moving to permanent residences, and one to live in a tent on Boone County Jail property. Last week, a resident saw online that a registered sex offender had used the Whitestown Meijer store address as his own. The man was living in a car in the grocery store parking lot. The issue came to the attention of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the only law enforcement agency in the county charged with…
Read MoreMA: Senate passes sweeping criminal justice bill after emotional debate
The Massachusetts Senate early Friday passed a sweeping bill that would upend state laws on crime and punishment, aiming to reduce the number of people ensnared in the thicket of the criminal justice system and ease the tough-on-crime approach of decades past. The vote was 27-10. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Ohio judges can dismiss sex charges against kids under 13, justices rule
[The Columbus Dispatch] Juvenile court rules empower judges to dismiss some sex charges against children under age 13 charged with molesting a child close to their age, the Ohio Supreme Court declared Wednesday. The court was divided on the Franklin County case, voting 4-3 to overturn a decision by the Franklin County Court of Appeals. The 2013 case involved a 12-year-old boy charged with three delinquency counts of gross sexual imposition for conduct with a boy who was nearly 10 years old. Read more
Read More