AR: How State Handles Teen Sex Offenders

to one in three cases of child sexual assault will be at the hands of a teenager, and cases of teens with a history in the juvenile system assaulting younger children can lead to calls of tougher restrictions and more widespread notifications. In Arkansas, juveniles convicted of sex offenses are treated differently than adults, with a focus on rehabilitation to make offenders less likely to reoffend. But some victims’ families are saying they don’t understand how the system works or why we don’t have a count of youth offenders across…

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PA: Challenge to SORNA retroactivity reaches Pennsylvania Supreme Court

In the last few years, Pennsylvania’s courts have taken an active role in defining the propriety and scope of the state’s sex offender registration program.  Following on the heels of a December 2014 decision striking down sex offender registration for juveniles, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a sweeping challenge to the retroactive application of Pennsylvania’s adult sex offender registry. Full Article

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TX: HOA bans homeowners renting to sex offenders, but is it legal?

HOUSTON – A Fort Bend County neighborhood’s homeowners association has put a ban on any homeowner renting to a registered sex offender. Lots of families with young children live in the Kingdom Heights neighborhood. The deed restrictions established by the HOA for the quiet suburban Houston community are crystal clear — no homeowner may lease to a residence to a registered sex offender. Full Article

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WI: Underground and off the grid – Lawmakers work to solve issue of homeless sex offenders

“I’m always moving around. I’m homeless,” …. said. Many people in Milwaukee wish he would just go away. The evidence is in the maps — maps that show where convicted sex offenders can live, and where they cannot. They show safe zone perimeters around schools, parks, playgrounds, daycare centers, trails and churches. Each municipality makes its own. Full Article

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AR: Judge resigns after allegations that he offered young men reduced sentences in exchange for sexual favors

Once, the judge allegedly asked a man to pose like Michelangelo’s Statue of David in exchange for $300. He allegedly instructed another man to strip naked and bend over, handcuffed, inside an Arkansas courtroom while he snapped photographs, up close. And on multiple occasions, he allegedly sentenced men — often young and poor — to illegitimate “community service” that ultimately led them to the judge’s home or office, posing for more suggestive photographs as “proof” they had completed their work. Full Article Related Is Predator Judge Joseph Boeckmann The Most…

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FL: Lawmakers – Banning sex offenders from social media is easier said than done

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Sexual offenders and predators in Florida are required to register their internet information, including emails and social media accounts, with their probation officers, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and their local sheriff’s office. But doing more, such as banning them from social media, is something lawmakers say is easier said than done. Full Article Related FL: Who is policing sex offenders online? The answer – no one

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