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,…
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MN: 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
Read MorePA: Donegal sex offender fights lifetime registration
A Donegal man convicted of assaulting a 14-year-old girl on a walking trail is challenging the constitutionality of lifetime registration with police ordered for certain sex offenders. _____ _____’s contention that he should not be required to register for life because it exceeds the maximum prison sentence for his offense is one of several such appeals filed through the Fayette County Public Defender’s Office. Full Article
Read MoreVa: Teen Could be Jailed for “Sexting” Girlfriend
A Virginia teen is facing two felony charges after he was caught sexting with his girlfriend. If he’s convicted, he could be forced to register as a sex offender and spend time in jail. Full Article Related: Manassas Virginia 17 Year Old (a minor) Who “Sexted” His 15 year old Girlfriend is Forced by a Warrant to Allow the Virginia Authorities to Take Photos of His Genitalia
Read MoreAL: ACLU – Law banning sex offender camp might violate Alabama’s constitution
CLANTON, Alabama — A new law used to shut down a church-affiliated camp for convicted sex offenders in rural Alabama violates a state constitutional amendment designed to protect religious liberty, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday. Randall Marshall, legal director of the ACLU’s Alabama office, said the law that went into effect this week is in apparent conflict with the Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment, passed in 1998 to make it tougher for government to infringe on religious rights. Full Article
Read MoreSex Offenders Cannot Even Be Garbage Men?
Anyone that is a registered citizen or has a loved one or friend who is, knows first-hand how difficult it is for a registrant to find employment. First, there are restrictions on where a registrant can work; not only geographically but also in which positions. Second, there is the stigma of hiring a registrant and the potential social and economic backlash that might come when clients or customers of that business learn of the employee’s history. Now, some recent articles have exposed a third challenge… employers can be liable for…
Read MoreOH: Ohioans can search sex offender phone, email info
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohioans can see whether phone numbers, email addresses or screen names belong to registered sex offenders under a new feature added to the state’s online database. Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the change Thursday in a news conference with the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association. Full Article
Read MoreMD: Court Rules Sex Offenders Who Committed Crimes Before 1995 Removed From Registry
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) — A major and controversial court ruling could strike a quarter of all names off Maryland’s sex offender registry. It’s now just a question of when. Full Article
Read MoreAlabama Crushes Sex Offender Reform Camp for No Good Reason
In rural Clanton, Alabama, a pastor named Ricky Martin has operated a camp on his property to help convicted sex offenders reform themselves. Martin’s program has since 2010 provided a refuge for over 50 men as they try to assimilate back into society. Not anymore, though. C.J. Robinson, the chief deputy district attorney of Chilton County, thought the group was icky or dangerous or something, so he went out of his way to put an end it. Full Article
Read MoreLA: Sex offender’s 3-year prison sentence for failing to register not excessive
A state appeals court has upheld the three-year prison sentence a Jefferson Parish judge gave a Plaquemines Parish man for failing to complete his sex offender registration. ____ ____, 39, says the punishment is excessive, because he tried to register as a sex offender when he moved to Jefferson Parish but could not afford the $630 notification fee the Sheriff’s Office charged him. Full Article
Read MoreAL: Alabama shuts down church’s sex offender housing
CLANTON, Ala. (AP) — Believing it was his calling to reach out to people Jesus called “the least of these,” Pastor Ricky Martin built a little church and opened a camp out back for some of society’s most unwanted people: Sex offenders. With the help of some former inmates convicted of rape, sodomy, child sexual abuse and other crimes, Martin raised a gray-block chapel in a rural patch of central Alabama in 2010, and parked old campers and recreational vehicles behind it to house the men. More than 50 convicted…
Read MoreMA: SJC ruling leads to release of sex offenders
SALEM — Dozens of sex offenders have been released from custody in the two weeks since the state’s highest court ruled that the state’s lifetime community parole law violates the state constitution, the county’s chief prosecutor said this week. And District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said he’s concerned that they’re hitting the street with almost no advance notice. “It’s a dire safety issue for us to have these people on the street with no notice,” said Blodgett, who believes as many as 40 offenders are being released in Essex County as…
Read MoreMD: Ruling could scrub quarter of sex offender registry
One-fourth of the names on Maryland’s sex offender registry could be removed after the state’s top court expanded Monday on an earlier ruling that adding offenders from before the list was created violated the state constitution. The Court of Appeals declared last year that the state could not require the registration of people who committed their crimes before October 1995, when the database was established. State officials removed the one name in question in that case but maintained that federal law required them to keep older cases in the database.…
Read MoreOH: Public housing residents illegally allowed registered sex offenders to live with them
CLEVELAND, Ohio – More than two dozen men and women who illegally allowed registered sex offenders to live with them in federally subsidized housing have been charged with theft and tampering with records, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office said Monday. Each of the 27 defendants were charged with theft and the grand jury indictments also include 89 counts of tampering with records. Full Article
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