LA: Registered sex offender’s murder being investigated as hate crime

An elderly man from Many was killed this morning after being shot in the chest. According to the Sabine Parish Coroner’s Office, sheriff’s deputies arrived in the 1300 block of Matthews Lodge Road — off of LA Hwy. 6 — after an alarm tech found the man in the doorway of a home. The victim, identified as 72-year-old _____ _____, was located lying face-up on the living room floor of his mobile home, just inside the front door. Deputies say an unknown suspect fired a single shot through the storm door,…

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Taping began today! A Women Against Registry and Metamora Films Project

www.womenagainstregistry.org A message from the Women Against Registry (WAR) National Directors:   W.A.R. is Becoming a Major Player For those of you who might not be aware, Women Against Registry is taking part in the 4th International Conference on Hate Studies in October, 2017. The conference, sponsored by Gonzaga University, will be held on the school’s campus in Spokane, WA. WAR’s participation, following on the heels of our own successful conference, signals an increase in our visibility and our influence within the community. This exposure will ultimately further our ability…

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Metro officer who pleaded guilty to child porn presumably commits suicide

[KVVU-TV Las Vegas] A Metro police officer who pleaded guilty to child pornography charges earlier this year has died at the age of 25, one day before he was supposed to answer for his crimes. Investigators said Officer Ruben Delgadillo was using software to share one of the largest stashes of child pornography in Nevada. He was 24 years old when he was arrested last Aug. and faced the up to 45 years in prison. Officers said Delgadillo told them he knew he had a problem and felt guilty comparing himself to sex…

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AK: Going home – Even sex offenders should get a chance to rejoin society

The good news is that Alaska’s sex offender treatment program works. The bad news is that a shortage of providers creates a many-months-long waiting list that traps sex offenders from rural Alaska in Anchorage, sometimes homeless. With 250 sex offenders coming out of Alaska prisons annually, 45 percent of them Native, this is a public safety threat and a humanitarian fiasco. We must do better. Full Opinion Piece (3rd of 3)

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Sex offender’s plan goes up in smoke

[Battle Creek Enquirer] A convicted sex offender’s plan to open a business next to a toy store in downtown Battle Creek has hit a major stumbling block. Reece Adkins’ business partner, Cindy Dian, contacted the building owner, John Hennink, on Thursday and asked if the lease could be dissolved. Hennink said yes. Adkins, who pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13 in May 2000, was planning to open Cereal City Food Auction, … Read more  

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Fort council amends sexual offender domicile restrictions

[Daily Jefferson County Union] To comply with recent federal court rulings, the Fort Atkinson City Council has amended its ordinance restricting the placement of sex offenders. At its meeting Tuesday, the council removed the domicile restriction from the ordinance that had prevented convicted offenders who did not live in Fort Atkinson at the time of their offense from moving into the city once released. When adopted in February 2016, many other municipalities were including the domicile restriction in their ordinances. Since then, in a federal case titled Hoffman v. the…

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Cruel and Unusual: The Case Against Registering Kids as Sex Offenders

[Impact Justice] America’s kids have racked up some big wins in the nation’s most august court. The victory lap began in 2005 when the Supreme Court banned the death penalty for juveniles. (Roper v. Simons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005).) In 2010, the Court barred mandatory life without parole for juveniles, except those convicted of murder. (Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010).) Two years later, the Court eliminated this exclusion, reasoning that a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release violates juveniles’ constitutional protections against “cruel…

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Are Sex Offender Registries Too Strict?

[Newsweek] Public sex offender registries are at the forefront of what I’ve described in my research as a “war on sex.” Offenders convicted of sex crimes are now singled out for surveillance and restrictions far more punitive than those who commit other types of crime. More than 800,000 Americans are now registered sex offenders. Tracking them has created a booming surveillance industry. In my work on sex offender registries, I have found that black men in the U.S. were registered at rates twice that of white men—resembling disparities found in…

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Sex Offender, 81, Jumps Off Joliet Bridge, Drowns: Police

[Joliet Patch] JOLIET, IL — An 81-year-old man who was a convicted sex offender took his own life on Friday morning by jumping off the downtown Cass Street Bridge, police said. A call came into the Joliet Police Department’s communications center at 6:59 a.m. in reference to someone who jumped into the Des Plaines River. A few officers were in the immediate area. They quickly accessed a police boat and tried to save the man from drowning. “As the officers observed the man in the water, he attempted to be…

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WA: Seattle set to prevent landlords from considering applicants’ criminal records

[The Seattle Times] Seattle set to prevent landlords from considering applicants’ criminal records. Seattle landlords would be almost completely prohibited from screening prospective tenants based on their criminal histories, under a proposed ordinance approved by a City Council committee Tuesday. The only people who could be denied housing based on their criminal histories would be those listed on sex-offender registries because of adult convictions. And landlords denying housing to such sex offenders would still need to state a legitimate business reason for doing so. Read more    

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MN: Study gives hope for children with sexual behavior problems

[Star Tribune] It’s common to feel many emotions when faced with the prospect of children as victims, or perpetrators, of sexual violence: Horror. Grief. Anger. Shame. One emotion we rarely dare to feel is hope. But findings from a new, myth-busting study by the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MNCASA) give us hope in abundance for these children, their families and society. The project, funded by Raliance, a nonprofit that distributes funds from the National Football League, examined how Minnesota identifies and treats children with sexual behavior problems, as well…

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MO: City Union Mission sues Jackson County sheriff over arrest threats

[The Kansas City Star] The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is targeting some sex offenders for arrest at the City Union Mission because it sits near a park, according to a federal lawsuit alleging that the practice violates the charity’s constitutionally protected rights of religious freedom. The suit centers on how the sheriff’s office interprets a Missouri law that prohibits certain offenders from “loitering” within 500 feet of a public park that contains a pool or playground equipment. The mission operates several facilities in the 1100 block of East 10th Street…

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AL: Teacher Accused of Sex with Students Gets Charges Thrown Out as Unconstitutional

DECATUR, Ala. – An Alabama teacher accused of having sex with two of her students succeeded in having her charges thrown out on constitutional grounds, Morgan County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson confirmed Thursday. Carrie Witt was facing potential prison time for allegedly having sex with two students between 16 and 19 years old while she taught at Decatur High School. Read more  

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