The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that it will file a lawsuit challenging a new state law that makes it a crime for high-risk sex offenders to live within 1,000 feet of a school. Full Article Related RI: Outcasts – Level III sex offenders in R.I. can’t live within 1,000 ft. of schools
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OH: Sex offender registries draw criticism from some unlikely sources
You might think that all advocates for rape victims would support the practice of forcing sex offenders to publicly register their addresses after their release from prison. But you would be mistaken. Growing numbers of victim advocates and criminal justice researchers are among those who have concluded that sex offender registries are too costly and provide little or no protection to the public. Full Article Also see: Sex offender says registry amounts to punishment for life Nearly three decades ago, ____ ____ was convicted of raping a 33-year-old woman. While…
Read MoreWI: Teen sexting in Wisconsin is popular, criminal (Opinion)
In Wisconsin, if your teenager is “sexting” with other teens, he or she could end up being convicted of possession of child pornography (or numerous other sex crimes), sent to prison and placed on the sex offender registry. Sexting is sending sexually explicit digital photos or videos to another person via cell phone or the Internet. It is the latest “craze” among teens and it’s popular in Wisconsin. According to research from TeenSafe.com, over 70 percent of teens admit to sexting with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Full Article
Read MoreGA: Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Sex Offender Law
The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over a state statute that dictates how “sexually dangerous predators” are classified. ____ ____ was designated a “sexually violent predator” in 2013, which is the highest risk designation and requires him to wear an electronic monitor for the rest of his life. ____ was convicted for exposing himself and performing a sexually explicit act via webcam to an individual he believed was a 14-year-old girl, according to court documents. Full Article Case Info
Read MoreMD: Protest on sex offender’s involvement in Havre de Grace Seafood Festival stops council vote
The fate of next year’s Havre de Grace Seafood Festival is up in the air after residents complained to the City Council Monday about ____ and ____ ____’s involvement with the event. The City Council refused to entertain a motion to approve the festival for 2016, leaving the festival’s future in limbo. Full Article Related MD: In Havre de Grace, festival sees protest against former councilman convicted of sex offense
Read MoreCan We Please Stop Being Stupid and Cruel “For the Sake of the Children”?
A new law in Rhode Island will make sex offenders living beyond 300 feet of a school move to a place at least 1000 feet from a school. They have 30 days to uproot their lives. Guess who thinks this will make children safer? Only the R.I. Brotherhood of Correction Officers, which sponsored the bill. No one else. Not even law enforcers. Full Article Lenore Skenazy writes on her blog “Free Range Kids“, a commonsense approach to parenting in these overprotective times. She was the keynote speaker [video] at the 2014…
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Homeless Sex Offender Encampment Surpasses 200 People
The torture started in 2006. The cities of Miami-Beach and Miami got into a war of sex offenders because Miami Beach’s ordinance drove registrants without anyplace to live over to the mainland. Miami countered by passing their own ordinance to drive them back. The result, sex offenders couldn’t find anyplace to live and were living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway; the bridge that connects Miami Beach to Miami. Full Article
Read MoreNV: Lawyer for 24 sex offenders says Nevada registration law is unconstitutional
CARSON CITY — An attorney representing 24 unnamed previously convicted sex offenders told the Nevada Supreme Court on Monday that a state law that would change the way such individuals are classified is a “one size fits all’ approach that is inappropriate and unconstitutional. Full Article
Read MoreRI: Outcasts – Level III sex offenders in R.I. can’t live within 1,000 ft. of schools
Most of them knew what was coming, but the words still left them shocked and dismayed. Dozens of Providence men, all convicted of sex crimes, learned Wednesday from the Providence police that they had 30 days to find a new place to live. Full Article
Read MoreMD: Retroactive registration of juvenile sex offenders OK’d
A juvenile court did not violate a convicted teenager’s constitutional rights by requiring him to register as a sex offender, though he committed the sexual assault before the registry’s enactment, a Maryland appeals court held Tuesday. Article with Paywall Appeals Court Decision
Read MoreNH: Lawmaker proposes registry for heroin dealers
The registry would be similar to the registry of sex offenders. Rep. Jack Flanagan, R-Brookline, said it would allow Granite Staters to know if they live near anyone convicted of dealing heroin. “It basically sets up an offenders list,” Flanagan said. “Just like we have sex offenders, now we have drug dealers that are selling heroin, and I think they are equally as bad to the public.” Flanagan said he believes a public database would not only serve as a public service, but also as a deterrent for those who…
Read MoreMN: Judge mulls reforms to ‘unconstitutional’ sex offender treatment
A federal judge said Wednesday he will rule on the fate of Minnesota’s sex-offender treatment program within 30 days, hoping to protect the civil liberties of its patients but also communities where offenders might be released. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank has already found the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) unconstitutional; during a morning court hearing Wednesday he heard arguments on its future from attorneys representing a group of confined sex offenders and from the state agency that runs the program’s two locked treatment facilities. Full Article
Read MoreHI: This Program Offers Sex Offenders Second Chances — And It’s Working
One day back in 2003, ____ ____ sat in a room at the Kulani Correctional Facility, listening to a recording of a frantic 911 call. A woman was on the line, clearly in distress: Her house was being broken into. Terrified, she was hiding in a closet and begging for help — but to no avail. A man soon broke in, raped the woman and killed her. ____, who had been locked up for seven life sentences — including one for a rape conviction — says listening to the recording…
Read MoreMO: Supreme Court weighing adult sex offender registration for youth
The Missouri Supreme Court heard a case Wednesday that could have wide-ranging effects on children accused of serious sexual crimes. The case involves a troubled, developmentally delayed 14-year-old St. Louis boy accused of sexually assaulting his 41-year-old adoptive sister. But it also could challenge the state’s little-known juvenile sex offender registry, and the juvenile court’s ability to place children on the adult registry. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Group sues Seminole County, sheriff over sex-offender rules
An organization that works to reform sex-offender laws in Florida is suing Seminole County and Sheriff Don Eslinger, alleging that a decade-old county ordinance is so restrictive that it prevents registered sex offenders from traveling to a grocery store, eating out at a restaurant or, in some cases, even leaving their homes. According to Seminole’s ordinance, sexual offenders or predators in most cases are not allowed to “travel through or remain within” 1,000 feet of schools, parks, day care centers or playgrounds. Full Article
Read More2015 RSOL Conference Videos are online
Just in time for the weekend, video recorded presentations from the 2015 RSOL Conference in Dallas are online for public viewing. Presentations that may be of interest include International Travel, Starting Your Own Business, as well as several talks by Janice Bellucci. http://rsolconference.org/conference-videos/2015-videos-2/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/ReformSexOffenderLaw
Read MoreOH: Report – 1 in 5 Ohio inmates are current or former sex offenders
COLUMBUS (AP) —A legislative report says one in five current Ohio prison inmates is behind bars now for a sex offense or was in the past. The report released Wednesday says about 7,700 inmates are serving time for a sex offense, and an additional 2,415 inmates have a prior sex offense. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction houses about 50,000 inmates. Full Article Report Profile of Sex Offenders in Ohio Prisons (2015)
Read MoreCO: Commerce City wants sex offenders to be employed and contribute to the community
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – What to do with sex offenders once they’ve served their time and are back in your neighborhood? Tracking them is one thing — making sure they stay employed and stay out of trouble is another. Because of that, Commerce City is taking a new approach to keeping tabs on sex offenders. “The biggest part of these guys not re-offending – is whether or not they’re employed,” said Commerce City Police detective Christian Rasmussen. Full Article
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