BROOKLYN (CN) – A convicted sex offender can continue his federal civil rights case against a Long Island-based advocacy group he says repeatedly dogged him at his home in a campaign to rid the county of sex offenders, a federal judge ruled. The plaintiff, identified only as “John Jones,” sued the group Parents for Megan’s Law in federal court in Central Islip in January 2015, claiming it was hired by Suffolk County officials to monitor sex offenders and run them out of town in violation of their Constitutional rights. Full…
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Law and Disorder: A minister, sex offender and advocate
Ten years ago videographer/photographer Max Schulte and I did a project about sex offenders in Monroe County. … While reporting, we met the Rev. David Hess, the minister at West Henrietta Baptist Church. Hess was a Level 1 sex offender — considered the least dangerous — who advocated for thoughtful laws. I did not know much of his story; he was instead a conduit to others whom we interviewed. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Defending Sex Offenders One City at a Time
Richard Gladden might be considered a superhero among civil rights activists if he weren’t representing one of the most despised segments of the population: sex offenders. The 55-year-old attorney has been defending them in court for more than a decade, fighting for their rights in a society hell-bent on taking them away. Full Article Texas Voices for Justice and Reason
Read MoreWI: Senate passes residence restrictions for sex offenders
The Wisconsin Senate has passed a bill creating uniform restrictions on where violent sex offenders can live. Municipalities currently use local ordinances to create zones where sex offenders can’t live. The bill would create statewide regulations barring violent sex offenders from living with 1,500 feet of any school, day care, youth center, church or public park. Full Article Related http://www.startribune.com/wisconsin-lawmaker-seeks-to-change-state-s-sex-offender-law/326659501/ https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2015/related/proposals/ab290 http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/lazich/Pages/pa-show.aspx?id=The+State+Should+Leave+Local+Sex+Offender+Ordinances+Alone
Read MoreIN: Senate unanimously passes legislation to create child abuse registry
New legislation is making its way through the Indiana General Assembly to create an online public registry for convicted child abusers. Indiana State Sen. Carlin Yoder authored the bill known as Kirk’s Law in honor of a 19-month-old boy who died under the care of his babysitter in Northern Indiana. The Senate unanimously passed the bill 49-0. It is currently in the House, recently referred to the Committee on Courts and Criminal Code. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Hundreds of convicted sex offenders missing in Tulsa area
TULSA — According to Tulsa Police, there are hundreds of convicted sex offenders missing in the Tulsa area. However, just because they’re missing doesn’t mean they’re gone, said Sgt. John Adams with the Tulsa Police Department. … According to Adams, the places where a registered sex offender can live in Tulsa have been greatly restricted since 2006.During that year, Oklahoma lawmakers passed a 2,000 law, stating sex offenders can’t live within 2,000 feet of a school, park, or any place where children live or play. “2006 just turned our world…
Read MoreOH: House Passes Legislation To Require Mandatory Prison Sentences For Sex Offenders
The Ohio House of Representatives has pushed forward legislation that will require a mandatory prison sentence for sex offenders. House Bill 405 establishes a mandatory prison sentence for soliciting a child under 13 years old to engage in sexual activity. The bill also stipulates that if an offender is more than 10 years older than a victim, who is 13 to 16-years-old, the offender will receive a mandatory prison sentence. Full Article
Read MoreUT: Amendment to lower time on Sex Offender Registry on House floor
SALT LAKE CITY — Amendments to HB16 would allow those who have been charged with crimes like voyeurism or “enticing a minor” to be dropped from the Sex Offender Registry in five years instead of 10. “Almost everyone is the legislature knows someone in this situation and has been asked to please do something about it,” said Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan. For the past five years, Draxler has been trying to make amendments to get sex offenders charged with lesser crimes off the list quicker than other sex offenders…
Read MoreIL: Jail inmates target female guards, lawyers with sexual abuse
They call themselves Savage Life. Inmates facing charges of murder, rape and other serious crimes formed the gang about six months ago in the Cook County Jail. Their goal is to sow chaos, officials say. They physically attack guards. … And they expose themselves and masturbate in the presence of female defense attorneys and female correctional officers. … A bill sponsored by state Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, is pending in the General Assembly and would require inmates to register as sex offenders after two or more convictions for public indecency…
Read MoreWI: Court upholds GPS tracking of sex offender convicted before law passed
Making a Wisconsin sex offender wear a GPS anklet for life, when he was convicted before that was the law, does not violate the constitutional prohibition against retroactive punishment, a federal appeals court has ruled. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Court orders 83-year-old sex offender freed
AUSTIN — In a decision that could presage other releases, a state appeals court in Beaumont on Thursday ordered an 83-year-old man be immediately freed from a controversial supervision program for sex offenders because he no longer qualifies to be in it. The order by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals was the first complete release of an offender from the program in its 16-year-history, even though one other man was freed on a provisional basis and another left the state after an appeals court overturned his commitment — before…
Read MoreLA: HIV exposure law unjustly applies sex offender status, advocates say
As the deadline loomed for ____ to send out notices of her sex-offender status, she had two choices. She could stay at Covenant House with a roof over her head and a structured environment geared toward helping her turn her life around. But if she couldn’t find the $1,200 to pay for the notices, she could be sent to prison. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Families stunned that towns repealed sex offender laws
JUSTIN, Texas — Parents in this community southwest of Denton expressed outrage and disappointment Wednesday after learning that Justin is one of a growing number of small towns that have decided to repeal their sex offender ordinances to avoid a legal battle. Full Article
Read MoreMI: Sixth Circuit Considers Internet Restrictions on Former Sex Offenders This Week
The Center for Democracy & Technology has filed an amicus brief in the Sixth Circuit case Doe v. Snyder, a case challenging unconstitutional registration requirements imposed on former sex offenders and brought by the ACLU of Michigan. CDT is joined on the brief by the First Amendment Lawyers Association and Professor David G. Post, an expert in Internet law. The court is holding oral arguments Wednesday, January 27. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Small town sex offender laws in jeopardy
DENTON COUNTY — The fight over sex offender laws has come to Denton County in a big way. And it isn’t the only place. Five small towns near Denton now face legal challenges over their local sex offender ordinances. A sixth, the town of Justin, repealed its ordinance in December. “I’m not surprised,” said Denton attorney Richard Gladden. “I think the law is clearly on our side.” Gladden recently filed a string of lawsuits across the state on behalf of the group Texas Voices for Reason and Justice. The petitions target “general law” communities with a…
Read MoreVA: Senate Approves Eliminating Employer Names from Sex Offender Registry
The Virginia Senate passed a bill 22 to 17 that would remove a requirement that businesses who employ sex offenders have their name included in the sex offender registry. Democratic Senator Janet Howell of Northern Fairfax, the bill’s patron, says the current requirement serves as a barrier to hiring those who have served their time, and making it harder for them to get on with their lives. Full Article
Read MoreNV: Ruling approves stricter sex offender registration
A ruling by the Nevada Supreme Court on Friday gave the go-ahead for the state to implement stricter registration requirements for sex offenders. Justices, in a unanimous ruling, denied a petition sought by 24 unnamed, previously convicted sex offenders to block the nearly decade-old law from being implemented while a lower court considers constitutional challenges. Justices said the judicial record of facts was insufficient for the high court’s review. … Assembly Bill 579 was passed by lawmakers in 2007 to make Nevada compliant with the Adam Walsh Act, a federal…
Read MoreNJ: Court Sets Polygraph Limits for Sex Offenders
TRENTON, N.J. (CN) – Polygraph testing is par for the course when New Jersey releases sexual offenders on permanent supervision, but the state’s parole board is barred from using such tests as evidence, a state appeals court ruled today. The decision comes in answer to a lawsuit five convicted sex offenders brought in 2013. Full Article Related Decision N.J. court upholds lie detector tests for sex offenders
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