Polk County, Florida — Sheriff Grady Judd assembled a press conference Tuesday morning of nearly a dozen local law enforcement leaders to recognize their efforts in “Operation Cyber Vigilance,” a March-through-June crackdown that already received thorough coverage in local media. However, he either didn’t realize – or didn’t care – that a number of the 132 men whose faces appeared on his mugshot “big board” had already been cleared of committing crimes. Full Article
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TX: From convicted sex offender to millionaire, man gets new life
Dallas (CNN) — ____ ____ has has been spending most of his time these days living in a tiny room in a no-frills northeast Dallas nursing home. Until recently, he had a roommate who slept in a bed 2 feet away, and staff brought him three square meals a day. Only a few hours passed each day in which he didn’t think about his burden of four decades: being a convicted sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Mom arrested after allowing her 7-year-old son to go to a nearby park alone
A mother faces a charge of child neglect after she allowed her son to go to a local park alone. She says he’s old enough but Port St. Lucie Police disagree. Now she’s fighting back. … The officer wrote in the report that Dominic was unsupervised at the park and that “numerous sex offenders reside in the vicinity.” Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Parents of little girl who inspired Megan’s Law recall brutal rape, murder of their daughter 20 years later
Megan Kanka was raped and strangled by a twice-convicted sex offender across the street from her home in Hamilton Township, N.J., in July of 1994. Her parents, Maureen and Richard Kanka, pushed tirelessly for the law that alerts parents when a sexual predator moves into the neighborhood. Two decades later, the family is still haunted by the tragedy. Full Article
Read MoreOpinion: Megan’s Law requiring sex offender registry reduces opportunities for sick people to hurt children: former NJ governor
Christine Todd Whitman, who was governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, writes that she signed Megan’s Law to help parents know who is living near them so they can ensure their children are safe. While the law is not a panacea, it has helped protect kids. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Sex offender law passes after CBS 58 Investigation
MILWAUKEE — Thanks to a CBS 58 Bottom Line Investigation Milwaukee now has a new sex offender ordinance. CBS 58’s Investigative Reporter Sarah Barwacz brought the issue to lawmakers back in May after finding child predators living next to schools, daycare centers, and parks. It was legal for child predators to live next to schools and parks because there was no law against it. Some council members we spoke with felt Milwaukee had become overrun with offenders. After several months of working with lawmakers Tuesday we got a law passed. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Lewisville Loses Appeal on Sex Offender Ordinance
In a ruling released Tuesday, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a district court ruling from last year that had dismissed a lawsuit against the City of Lewisville over the constitutionality of a city ordinance restricting where registered sex offenders can live. Full Article
Read MoreVT: Lawmakers not ready to post Sex Offenders’ addresses online
Lawmakers on Tuesday held off on deciding whether the state sex offender registry is good enough to allow offenders’ addresses to be posted online. State law says an audit of the error-ridden registry must be “favorable” before the state can post home addresses of sex offenders on the Internet sex offender registry. After a 2010 audit found major problems, State Auditor Doug Hoffer last week released a new audit report that found persistent problems, though there were fewer issues than in the previous audit. Hoffer’s office found 253 offender records…
Read MoreMN: The Minnesota Sex Offender Program, explained
Last week, inside a federal courtroom in St. Paul, U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank heard several days of testimony from a team of experts appointed to review how the state administers its Minnesota Sex Offender Program — the subject of a class action lawsuit that has raised numerous questions about the program’s constitutionality. Full Article
Read MoreMA: National Geographic photos not child porn, court rules
The state’s highest court has tossed out a child pornography case against a convicted child rapist who had photocopies of pictures of naked children from a National Geographic magazine, a sociology textbook, and a naturist catalogue in his state prison cell. Full Article Related MA: Porn debate over National Geographic photo goes to SJC (CA RSOL) Decision
Read MoreWI: Judge sentences man behind arson to sex offender’s home to prison
STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A Door County judge has sentenced a man who took part is setting fire to the home of a registered sex offender Monday to three years in prison. T.J. Hunt set fire to the home where Jason Johnson was staying back on November 2. Sturgeon Bay police say Hunt and Justin Baker claimed they set the blaze because they didn’t want a sex offender living there. Full Article
Read MoreMA: SJC sex offender ruling another affront against Massachusetts residents (Op-Ed)
The state’s highest judicial entity; the Supreme Judicial Court reached another stunning milestone in delivering an affront to the sensibilities and protections of law-abiding citizens on July 11th. In a 6 to 1 decision the justices ruled that life-time parole for sex-offenders is unconstitutional. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreNE: Is registering as a sex offender inconvenient?
OMAHA, Neb. —Local law officials said sex offenders are ducking the system because they want Douglas County to make registering more convenient, but the county said it’s not going to cater to convicts. Authorities said there are not many wealthy registered sex offenders in Douglas County. In fact, the exact opposite can be said for most. Most convicted criminals are living on fixed incomes and some are without a home; most are unable to buy a car. When it takes a 13-mile cab ride to register as a sex offender,…
Read MoreMN: Federal panel moves on sex offenders release
____ ____ celebrated his 19th birthday by checking into Minnesota’s treatment program for sex offenders. ____ had been in and out of therapy and juvenile detention in Anoka County since he was 12, when his family discovered that he’d sexually abused other children, including his younger step-brother. Even at that age, ____ said, he was having almost daily sexual interactions with his peers. Full Article
Read MoreRI: Chafee signs law restricting employment of sex offenders
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Carnivals, arcades, movie theaters, public libraries, beaches and pools are among the facilities banned from hiring registered sex offenders as employees under a new law signed by Governor Chafee on Wednesday. The bill groups those facilities and a number of others into a category called “child-safe zones.” Any entity falling into that category cannot hire any individual who is a registered sex offender or should have registered as a sex offender. The law applies to offenders from any state whose victims were minors. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Police to take graphic photos of teen as evidence
McLEAN, Va. (AP) — A Virginia teenager is fighting efforts by police who want to take photos of him in a sexually aroused state to try to prove a sexting case against him. Prosecutors in Prince William County told a judge they need photos of the 17-year-old’s erect penis to compare against photos he is accused of sending to his 15-year-old girlfriend at the time. The teen has been charged in juvenile court with possessing and manufacturing child pornography related to the images of himself he’s accused of creating. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Elgin police want new sex offender registration law
Members of the Elgin Police Department have asked local state officials to craft legislation that would supersede a court decision they say makes it more difficult to enforce the Sex Offender Registration Act. … “The fact that police have to prove this individual is at a specific address, I think may be a little too burdensome for the police, and not fair to the public, because we have to ensure their safety,” he said. Full Article
Read MorePA: New unit puts sex offenders on notice
A newly formed Pennsylvania State Police unit working to keep tabs on sex offenders is expected to soon come to Western Pennsylvania. The Megan’s Law Compliance Unit consists of two troopers who work with local agencies to arrest sex offenders who have failed to register their addresses or online accounts or otherwise have violated the terms of their release. Full Article
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