Frustrated by legislative inaction, the federal judge who found Minnesota’s sex offender program unconstitutional has threatened a “more forceful solution” if state leaders fail to implement immediate reforms. In a harshly worded order issued Wednesday, Judge Donovan Frank of the U.S. District Court in St. Paul called on the state to correct systemic problems with the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP), which locks up about 720 sex offenders who have completed their prison terms but are deemed unsafe for public release. Frank gave the state until Sept. 21 to file…
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CT: Sex Offender Registry Review A Tricky Task [Editorial]
Connecticut’s sex offender registry was created in 1998 to protect the public. Does it work? A committee of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission hopes to answer that question in the next 30 months as it reviews the state’s laws and policies relating to sex offenders. “This is not an easy topic,” said committee co-Chairman Robert Farr, former chairman of the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles. Full Editorial
Read MoreIN: Indiana sex offender’s porn ban tossed out by appeals court
A federal appeals court panel has overturned a lower court’s order banning an Indiana sex offender from viewing adult pornography. The panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit ruled Thursday that a probation requirement barring convicted sex offender Jeffrey P. Taylor of Logansport from accessing “legal adult pornography” was not supported by evidence in his criminal case. The decision, however, has little actual impact on Taylor. His probation period ended Friday — the day after the appeals court decision was issued. “Since the service…
Read MoreIL: Judge: Sex offender rule unconstitutional
BLOOMINGTON — A requirement that Illinois sex offenders report all Internet sites they use to police is unconstitutional because it violates the offenders’ free speech rights, according to a ruling by a McLean County judge. Judge Robert Freitag agreed with arguments from the defense lawyer for ____ ____, 22, of Normal, that state law is overly broad in its mandate that all email addresses and sites a sex offender uses or plans to use, including Facebook, must be registered with police. Full Article
Read MoreMD: In Havre de Grace, festival sees protest against former councilman convicted of sex offense
As families browsed the selection of seafood and frozen treats at the Havre de Grace Seafood Festival on Friday, protesters circulated fliers cautioning attendees about one of the event’s vendors. More than a dozen people handed out literature about ____ ____ _____, a 58-year-old food and ice cream truck operator who was convicted in 1999 of child sex abuse. Kayli Veres, a 28-year-old mother of five, said she organized the event to inform attendees who aren’t familiar with _____, ‘s past. She said she’s concerned because Maslin has been removed…
Read MoreMN: Gov. Dayton unveils possible reforms to troubled sex offender program
Gov. Mark Dayton spelled out a costly set of changes to Minnesota’s troubled sex offender treatment system on Monday, proposing new community facilities and closer evaluations in an attempt to satisfy a federal judge who says the program is unconstitutional and in need of an overhaul. Dayton and legislative leaders were called to appear in U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank’s court Monday morning for a closed-door hearing designed to hash out a political solution to a thorny legal problem. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Mobile home park offers residence for sex offenders
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – David Nichols drives through his trailer park on the southeast side of Oklahoma City surveying the seemingly constant buzz of activity. Men toil under the blazing summer sun, patching the leaky roofs of trailers, while others try to fix an old car parked in a makeshift garage. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Court backs sex offender ordinance in Palm Bay
PALM BAY, Fla. – There is a major victory for a Central Florida city looking to impose tougher restrictions on sex offenders. Palm Bay’s sex offender ordinance has been debated many times at city hall. Some say it puts too many restrictions on sex offenders, but Friday an appellate court released a ruling saying the ordinance does not violate offenders’ constitutional rights. Full Article
Read MoreMN: How one case — and geography — dramatically affected commitments to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program
On Thanksgiving eve 2003, Dru Sjodin disappeared from the Columbia Mall parking lot in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Early evidence didn’t look promising. Investigators found the 22-year-old’s car in a parking lot with a knife sheath beside it. A few days after the disappearance, police found one of her shoes across the Red Lake River in Crookston, Minnesota, under a bypass. Sjodin’s family wasn’t giving up, but by the end of the year, police knew they were most likely looking for a body. Full Article
Read MoreNM: Widow seeks damages in eldery inmate’s ‘brutal’ killing
A Santa Fe woman is suing the federal government over the beating death of her 72-year-old husband in a California prison after he was convicted on child pornography charges. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, says prison officials are to blame for putting retired Wall Street attorney ____ _ ____ in a communal cell at the Victorville, Calif., prison with another inmate whom they knew was a danger to him. Full Article
Read MoreKY: No place to live, sex offenders kept in prison
____ ____ ____ served out every bit of his eight-year sentence for sexual abuse and should have been released from prison more than a year ago. But he is still behind bars and could be for up to four more years, with state taxpayers footing the bill for his medical expenses and incarceration. The reason: He was charged with violating the terms of his conditional release from prison before he even got out, because he couldn’t find a legal place to live as a sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreFL: New security system will keep sex offenders out of Palm Beach County schools
WEST PALM BEACH (CBS12) – School will soon be back in session in Palm Beach County, and this year, new technology is offering an added layer of security. Ashley Frost is a parent and a teacher in Greenacres and says “I feel responsible to keep them safe so having one more security system in place can’t hurt.” Full Article
Read MoreTX: Do sex offender laws do more harm than good?
(KYTX) — It’s a story that has gotten national attention — a 19-year-old Indiana teen forced to register as a sex offender after having sex with a girl he thought was of age. It turned out she was only 14. Now, many are asking if sex offender laws do more harm than good. With the click of a mouse, you can find out who the registered sex offenders are in your neighborhood. But while it may provide some peace of mind to the people living nearby, critics argue the registry should be reserved for…
Read MoreCalifornia RSOL Joins National RSOL in Seattle
California RSOL joined national RSOL this week at the National Conference for State Legilsators (NCSL) in Seattle. More than 5,000 elected officials, staff and lobbyists attended this annual event. It is the third year national RSOL has had a booth at the conference. “The NCSL conference provided us with unique opportunities to meet with legislators and their stafff in an informal setting,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “We provided them with important facts regarding registered citizens such as the low rate of re-offense.” During the conference, a hot topic…
Read MoreMN: Federal judge bans media, public from major sex offender conference
A federal judge has barred the media and other members of the public from attending a legal parley on a case that will determine the future of Minnesota’s sex offender program, a ruling that immediately raised questions about public access and open government. Full Article
Read MorePA: 3 men jailed for separate sex assaults of 12-year-old girl from OKCupid dating website
A trio of Lancaster County men recently stood before a local judge and admitted to sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl they met in an online chatroom. … Each man told Reinaker they met the girl through OKCupid, an online dating website. Each claimed they believed the girl was over 18. She was, in fact, 12 at the start of the contact, police reported. … Cory Miller, ____’ lawyer, said the victim continued to use the website even after the men were charged. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Sex offenders who have kids put schools in awkward spot
Bayside Middle School administrators banned the father of a student this past school year after learning he had pleaded guilty a decade earlier to having sex with a 14-year-old when he was 21. Full Article
Read MoreIA: Break up Iowa’s sex-offender clusters (Opinion)
Three previously convicted sex offenders living in a west Davenport mobile home park are heading back to prison for abusing more kids. Full Op-Ed Article
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