Today, in a private session, the U.S. Supreme Court will be discussing an important case concerning the sex offense registry. News may come as soon as Monday, March 27th. The State of Michigan has asked the court to review a ground-breaking ruling by a lower federal court, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court is set to discuss the request for review today; review is granted in very few cases. If they turn down the request – the 6th Circuit ruling remains intact and directly impacts the…
Read MoreCategory: National
LA: New scam targets registered sex offenders with arrest threat
NEW ORLEANS — A new scam is targeting registered sex offenders, claiming they missed court dates that never actually existed. The US Marshal’s Service is warning the public that scam artists claiming they are Deputy US Marshals or Federal Marshals are working to extort money from sex offenders over the phone. Full Article
Read MoreFL: City of Palm Bay to change how it handles sex offenders
A court victory for the city of Palm Bay means homeowners could be protected from sex offenders working for contractors or delivery companies, city leaders said. From now on, painters, delivery services or other contractors who come to homes with children must disclose to the homeowner if they employ a sex offender or sexual predator. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: NJ Supreme Court – Sex Offender Can’t Be Banned From Internet Without Due Process
Does the state of New Jersey have the right to enact a lifetime internet ban for a sex offender without giving them due process? That was the question facing the New Jersey Supreme Court, which reversed an earlier appellate ruling on Tuesday and declared that imposing a lifetime internet ban without due process for “J.I.” – an admitted sex offender sentenced to community supervision for life – would be arbitrary and “unreasonable.” Full Article Opinion
Read MoreFL: Ms. Book goes to Tallahassee, sees no conflict voting $ for Lauren’s Kids or dad’s clients
Freshman Broward State Sen. Lauren Book says she won’t abstain from voting on matters involving clients of her father, powerful lobbyist Ron Book. Similarly, she sees no conflict of interest in voting on measures to funnel millions of taxpayer dollars to benefit her non-profit charity and political launching pad, Lauren’s Kids. Full Article Related FL: Oppose SB 1558 which can take away children from parents (Call to Action)
Read MoreVT: Years later, sex offender registry lacks addresses
Vermont families are unable to find out whether a high-risk sex offender lives in their neighborhood, years after the public sex offender registry was directed to include those details. Full Article
Read MoreWhat If Registrants Refuse To Take The Road Less Traveled?
An article out of Palos Park, Illinois has me wondering, WHAT IF? Apparently some parents waiting at a school bus stop had noticed what they termed a suspicious red Hyundai passing by the bus stop several times that week. What made this car look suspicious or out of place I’m not sure, there must be thousands of red Hyundais’ out there on the roads. It’s unclear from the article exactly how things unfolded but someone, a parent or the school district contacted the police. Police followed up on the call and determined that…
Read MoreOR: County part of national sex offender research
A handful of sex offenders sat on both sides of a conference room table at the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office — older offenders up to 82 years old on one side, younger ones at least 18 years old on the other. Clinical Social Worker Steven J. Powell pointed toward the more senior side of the table, but he directed his eyes toward the other. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Oppose SB 1558 which can take away children from parents (Call to Action)
SB 1558 authored by Senator Lauren Book. HB 7049 authored by Criminal Justice subcommittee; Representative Spano – Among a number of things this bill seeks to do is remove parental rights of parents convicted of viewing child pornography even if the child was not the victim! It empowers Department of Children and Families to make this call. We all know the horrific track record of DCF and how many children have died in their custody and control or oversight. TELL YOUR LEGISLATORS THEY DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT NOR THE EXPERTISE!…
Read MoreIL: Police Query Sex Offender Spotted Driving Near School Bus Stop
Palos Park police fielded phone calls from concerned parents after a school district reported a registered sex offender sighted near a school bus stop Tuesday afternoon. Full Article
Read MoreCO: Englewood alters but keeps restrictions on sex offenders
After months of city council consideration of the issue of sex offender residency restrictions, Englewood still has such restrictions, but the council relaxed the restrictions and included an amendment allowing offenders currently living in the city to remain. Full Article
Read More‘There must be a better way’ to look at sex offenses
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), there are 843,260 registered sex offenders listed in the United States. Some will spend five, 10 or 40 years in prison, but in truth, when they get out and reenter society, offenders are doomed to a life sentence without bars. Full Article
Read MoreHabitual sex offender, public masturbator gets life in prison for latest crime
A sex offender with a long record and compulsion for public indecency was sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday for his latest offense — getting caught masturbating on a MAX train. Full Article
Read MoreSex offenders’ prison treatment records should be open to public
____ and ____ are registered sex offenders accused of sex-related crimes just months after they were released from prison. If the latest allegations prove true, whatever steps the state took to rehabilitate them clearly did not stick. Ohio law prevents us from learning what many of those steps might have been. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Bill could end statute of limations for child sex offenders
Attorney General Lisa Madigan wants to erase the statute of limitations allowing felony child sex offenders to evade justice. Madigan’s office represents the people of Illinois in criminal cases, and described why it can be so difficult for some victims to come forward. Full Article
Read MoreCO: Englewood cuts in half its distance restrictions on where sex offenders can live
The Englewood City Council on Monday approved a measure that would cut in half its 2,000-foot buffer between parks and schools and where newly arrived sex offenders can live. But city leaders decided to allow offenders who already live in the city to continue doing so regardless of the buffer. Full Article
Read MoreCO: Sex offenders see stringent parenting rules relaxed in Colorado, prompting debate over child safety
Colorado’s sex offenders have long maintained the state treats them as pariahs, closely monitoring where they live, what they look at, who they talk to and what they discuss. One claimed in federal court filings that he was warned against keeping a crucifix because it displayed partial nudity. Another, convicted of groping a woman, said he had to write down his thoughts every time he saw a school bus. Full Article
Read MoreNC: She was portrayed as soft on sex offenders. Now the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to back her up
Robin Hudson could have gotten smeared for siding with sex offender Lester Packingham. Instead, the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to vindicate her – and remind us all of the dangers of a politicized judiciary. Hudson, an N.C. Supreme Court justice, was in fact smeared when she dissented in a separate case in 2010 involving child molesters. In her 2014 re-election bid, Hudson faced a half-million dollars worth of TV attack ads from special interests that twisted that dissent and portrayed her as soft on sex offenders. Full Article
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