Earlier this year, Federal Court Judge Donovan Frank ruled that the Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program, under which 720 men are currently civilly committed, is unconstitutional. Full Editorial
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MN: State pushes back against proposed reforms to Sex Offender Program
State officials are pushing back against a series of proposed reforms to Minnesota’s troubled sex offender program ahead of a high-profile court hearing next week. Citing concerns about costs, staff shortages and community opposition, administrators of the program argued in court filings this week against reforms that could accelerate the release of sex offenders from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP). The program currently holds about 720 sex offenders indefinitely at secure treatment centers in Moose Lake and St. Peter. In June, U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank declared the…
Read MoreWI: Sex offenders have 1st Amendment right to photograph children
A Wisconsin law prohibiting registered sex offenders from photographing children in public violates their right to free speech, the state Court of Appeals held Tuesday. The decision by the Wausau-based District 3 court reversed the conviction of a 44-year-old Green Bay man who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the non-pornographic photos. It also found the law unconstitutional on its face, not salvageable by a narrowed interpretation or severing part of the statute. Because of a 2002 child sexual assault conviction, ____ ____ was on probation in…
Read MoreFL: Halifax Health launches visitor ID system
… The process will take less than a minute and the system will screen visitors to see if they are on the sexual offender list, said David Hall, director of education and volunteer services. “We don’t want to build a wall and moat around the hospital,” Hall said. “We want to decrease our potential risk.” Sex offenders will be denied access. Sex offenders and those without a photo ID could be granted an exception to visit dying relatives, Hall said. Full Article
Read MoreNC: just prosecuted a teenage couple for making child porn — of themselves
Is it possible to sexually exploit one’s self? That question is one of many conundrums in the recent case of a teenage North Carolina couple charged with making and distributing child pornography. Their alleged crime: snapping and sending nude photos — of themselves. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Supreme Court – Sex offenders who served their time can’t face penalties under new laws
Sex offenders can not be subjected to punishments under newly created laws if they committed their offense and served their time before the legislation was passed, the state Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision Monday. Full Article ———— Please note. .. this article is from September 2014. It was previously posted here at its original date. https://all4consolaws.org/2014/09/nj-supreme-court-sex-offenders-who-served-their-time-cant-face-penalties-under-new-laws/ Oooops. ***Moderator***
Read MoreFL: Woman Filmed Having Sex on the Beach in Front of Kids: ‘I’m Not a Sex Offender!’
Elissa Alvarez is paying a high price after she was filmed having sex on a crowded public beach. She told INSIDE EDITION: “I am a sex offender right now.” The 21-year-old and her bodybuilder boyfriend, Jose Caballero, are now on the national sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreIA: Sex Offender Registry marks 20th year
WATERLOO | Iowa’s Sex Offender Registry marked its 20th anniversary this year. Judging the list for effectiveness, though, depends less on longevity and more on users’ expectations. The law went into effect in 1995 and the state’s website, iowasexoffenders.com, launched five years later. Full Article
Read MoreFL: FAC Sues Seminole County, Florida over Sex Offender Exclusion Zones Ordinance
The Florida Action Committee (FAC) has sued Seminole County and its Sheriff over the County’s proximity ordinance, which prohibits certain registered sexual offenders and predators from traveling through or being present within “exclusion zones” that encompass most of the County. The problem is that the zones are so broad and so vague that law abiding registered citizens cannot comply with the ordinance. Full Article
Read MoreLA: Lake Charles man arrested after not paying state sex offender fee
LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) –A Lake Charles man was arrested after he didn’t pay the required $60 state sex offender fee authorities said. Lake Charles police detectives arrested ____ ____ ____. Wednesday and booked him into the Calcasieu Correctional Center, according to Deputy Chief Mark Kraus. He is charged with failure to register/notify as a sex offender — failure to pay fee. His bail is set at $2,500. Full Article
Read MoreState Courts Strike Down Overbroad Residence Restrictions for People Convicted of Sex Offenses
After two decades of imposing increasingly harsh residence restrictions on people convicted of sex offenses, several key states are rejecting blanket restrictions. Full Article
Read MoreMD: Boy Faces Assault Charges For Kiss Made On A Dare
PIKESVILLE, Md. (WBFF) — Baltimore County Police and Baltimore County school officials responded to a report of assault involving two eighth-grade students at Pikesville Middle School on Wednesday. School officials took a report regarding a 13-year-old boy who kissed a 14-year-old girl during school hours. The unwanted kiss was allegedly the result of a dare made by students. Full Article
Read MoreMD: Study of Balto. Co. – Fewer sex offenses reported in neighborhoods with more registered sex offenders
Amid a growing national debate over sex offender registries, researchers who studied years of crime data from Baltimore County have released a new finding: Neighborhoods with more registered sex offenders experienced fewer reported sex offenses. The researchers from Princeton University and the University of Michigan, who chose Baltimore County because it was the first place they found where they could get all the data they sought, say the finding underscores misconceptions about where and how sex crimes are most likely to occur. Full Article
Read MoreAL: Sex offender statutes turn productive citizens into homeless pariahs
The Constitution’s ex post facto clause prohibits passing a law that retroactively increases the punishment for a criminal act that an offender committed before the law was passed. But in an ingenious 2003 Supreme Court ruling, a 6-3 conservative majority held that retroactive placement on a state sex offender registry–being put on a registry that was created after an offender committed his crime–doesn’t violate ex post facto because registration isn’t punishment. Full Article
Read MoreNC: Teen Boy Will Be Charged As Adult For Having Naked Pics of a Minor: Himself
A North Carolina 17-year-old caught in a sexting scandal faces charges of sexually exploiting a minor that could land him in jail for up to 10 years, since the law considers him an adult. But one of the minors he supposedly exploited is himself—which raises an obvious question: how can a teen be old enough to face adult felony charges, but not old enough to keep a nude picture of himself on his phone? Full Article
Read MoreGuam: Sex offenders to get chemical castration
HAGATNA, Guam — The Guam Legislature Thursday narrowly passed a bill for the creation of a pilot program to chemically castrate convicted sex offenders. The Chemical Castration for Sex Offenders Act passed 8-7, according to a release from the legislature. Full Article Related Guam Passes Legislation To Chemically Castrate Convicted Sex Offenders
Read MoreNH: Sex registry questioned after prep school grad’s conviction
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A graduate of an elite prep school who was convicted of having sexual contact with a 15-year-old classmate as part of a game of sexual conquest will be required to register as a sex offender for life, a punishment his lawyer likens to being branded and legal experts and reform advocates say exceeds the crime. Full Article
Read MoreNM: Farmington therapist’s practice offers juvenile sex offenders a second chance
FARMINGTON — A Farmington therapist stands by her belief that young people who commit sex offenses are worthy of a second chance at a healthy, normal life. Full Article
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