“And justice for all.” Boy, did I believe that as a child, when I placed my hand on my chest and recited the Pledge of Allegiance with fellow grade-school classmates. Although I grew up and smelled the coffee, that ideal is still implanted in my psyche. Dan Gustafson also grew up not only believing in it but walking the talk as a trial lawyer. On Monday, the former high school dropout, twice named a “super lawyer” in Minnesota by a prestigious legal magazine, will go to bat in a federal…
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MO: 3 relatives accused of staging kidnapping of boy to teach him a lesson
LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. – A 6-year-old Missouri boy’s mother, grandmother and aunt are accused of staging a kidnapping, then holding the child for four hours to teach him about stranger danger. Full Article
Read MoreOK: State Lawmaker Proposes Chemical Castration For Sex Offenders
An Oklahoma lawmaker is pushing to allow chemical castration of sex offenders. The procedure is in effect in two other states and could be in Oklahoma before the end of the year. This isn’t the first time this idea has come up in Oklahoma. It’s always been shot down, but some believe it could actually work. Full Article Bill Text
Read MoreMN: Judge sides with Minnesota sex offenders
he class-action lawsuit featuring more than 700 civilly committed sex offenders, many from Moose Lake, will go to trial in a St. Paul courtroom beginning Monday after a judge denied the state and its defendants a summary judgment earlier this week. In his ruling filed Monday, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank scolded the state’s legislative and executive branches for having “let politics, rather than the rule of law and the rights of ‘all’ of their citizens, guide their decisions.” Full Article
Read MoreUT: Lawmaker wants death penalty for sex traffickers
SALT LAKE CITY — A Davis County Republican wants to give convicted child sex traffickers the ultimate punishment – the death penalty. Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton, is pushing to make child sex trafficking a capital offense. He says he accompanied the Salt Lake City vice squad on patrol a few years ago. He’s realized how big an issue child trafficking is in Utah. He said he’s been working on bills to target prostitution and trafficking for years. “I got so fed up with what I’ve seen,” Ray said. “It’s time…
Read MoreIL: Arlington Heights limits garage sales after sexual assault
Arlington Heights is now limiting garage sales, months after neighbors blamed an out-of-control number of such events for a home invasion and sexual assault in the Cedar Glen area. Full article
Read MoreVA: Should sex offenders be allowed to visit their own child at school?
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers will consider a measure Tuesday that will affect parents and their children. House Bill 1366 would change state guidelines pertaining to sex offenders on school property. The measure is aimed at limiting school access for parents who are sex offenders and want to visit their child’s school. Under current state law, registered sex offenders are allowed on school campuses if their children goes to the school and their visit is cleared with the school superintendent. However, a bill introduced by Delegate Jeff Campbell (R-Marion) would change…
Read MoreUT: Letter – Sex offender treatment worth the money
I am writing to draw attention to the fact that our state Legislature’s budget cuts are resulting in cutbacks in sex offender-specific treatment for both adult and juvenile offenders. The budget at the prison has not increased in 17 years, and this is within a time frame that the sex offender population there has been exploding. The juvenile sex offender population is mushrooming, too, without increase in funding. Full Letter to the Editor
Read MoreWI: Sheriff – Why sex offenders live in our communities
Throughout the years I have written articles pertaining to many topics that affect the overall safety of our communities. From theft and fraud prevention to animal bites and cold weather preparation, there is never a shortage of issues in which helpful information can be shared. This week I would like to cover some information regarding sex offenders and the guidelines that govern their re-integration into our communities. Full Article
Read MoreTX: State program out of space to hold sex offenders
AUSTIN – Six repeat sex offenders that Texas has deemed among its most dangerous are due to be freed from prison in the next month, and a state program designed to keep them off the streets is full The problem promises to get worse: More than three dozen violent offenders are slated for release in coming months, and four halfway houses where more than 100 are confined have served notice they want them out by the end of August, officials confirmed Thursday. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Senate approves tougher penalties, requirements for sex offenders
The New York State Senate passed a package of seven bills Monday aimed at increasing penalties and establishing tougher requirements for sex offenders. Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Klein, co-leader of the state Senate Majority Coalition and leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, would ban level 2 and level 3 sex offenders from being placed in homeless shelters or emergency and temporary housing if children are currently living in the facilities. The state Senate also passed measures to establish a crime if an individual knowingly harbors, houses or employs…
Read MoreFL: State bills aim to monitor sex offenders for life
A new push has begun in the state Legislature to require convicted sex offenders to wear ankle monitors to track their movements for the rest of their lives. Two essentially identical bills, Senate Bill 134 and House Bill 203, aim to keep tabs on past offenders to make sure they don’t slip away so it becomes impossible to track them. But some experts said such laws would immediately be challenged in court. Full Article
Read MoreShould registered sex offenders be allowed to keep lottery winnings?
Last month, Timothy Poole of Mount Dora, Florida, won nearly $3 million on a scratch-off lottery ticket purchased at a 7-Eleven. Like most jackpot winners, he was given a giant check and got his picture taken by the state lottery. But that picture may have gained the ex-cab driver a lot more publicity than he ever wanted. Soon after Poole cashed in a lump sum of over $2.2 million dollars (after taxes), his picture was recognized and his past came back to haunt him. Poole is a registered sexual offender: After…
Read MoreVT: Lawmakers ask – How good does sex registry need to be?
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont lawmakers are grappling with how close to perfect the state’s sex offender registry needs to be before offenders’ addresses are posted online. Vermont in 2009 passed a law saying the registry had to have a clean audit from the state auditor of accounts before addresses could be posted. A 2010 audit found many errors; a follow-up audit last July found what Auditor of Accounts Doug Hoffer labeled “critical errors” in 11 percent of cases. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Juvenile sexting law needs to be fixed
Had she done it two years earlier, a teenage girl who used her cell phone to “sext,” or send a picture of her privates to a classmate, would have been in big trouble. But a Florida law designed to go easy on juveniles who transmit nude images turned out to be more lenient than anyone intended, an appeals court has ruled. Now the 13-year-old girl at the center of a Broward case won’t be facing any penalty at all, and neither will any other juvenile sexting defendant, the court ruled,…
Read MoreNH: A local lawmaker sponsors bills to protect convicted sex offenders
A local lawmaker has sponsored several bills in the N.H. House of Representatives that would increase protections for people on the state’s registry of sex offenders. Rep. Timothy N. Robertson, D-Keene, said he was motivated by information about two recent local attacks that he said may have been committed by someone who targeted people listed on the registry. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Re-commitment of sex offenders in Texas is unfair
Sex offenders, especially child predators, are some of the most reviled people on Earth. And because of the nature of their crimes, the public generally wants them put away for a long, long time. The question is: What’s long enough? Full article
Read MoreWI: Sex offender ordinance passed by Park Falls Common Council
At the Park Falls Common Council meeting Monday, Jan. 12, one topic high on the agenda was the passing of an ordinance that will regulate the movements and residential areas of sex offenders in the City of Park Falls. A draft of the proposed ordinance was previously reviewed and approved at the December 8 meeting of the Public Services Committee. Full article
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