Source: courthousenews.com 12/7/23 The parolees complain they have to wait months or more before a therapist deems them fit to see their own children — and can’t even speak to them by phone before then. CHICAGO (CN) — Sex offenders on supervised release argued before a Seventh Circuit panel Thursday that Illinois’ policy limiting when they can see their children is unconstitutional and should be overturned. The parolees filed a class action against the Illinois Department of Corrections in 2018 over a policy that forbade sex offenders from contacting their…
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TN: Tennessee argues to reinstate sex offender registry requirements at Sixth Circuit
Source: courthousenews.com 12/7/23 CINCINNATI (CN) — Reporting requirements for sex offenders convicted before 1995, which can include in-person reporting, administrative fees and movement restrictions, do not violate the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution, the Volunteer State argued Thursday at a federal appeals court. The state sought to overturn the ruling of a federal judge who found the exhaustive regulations punitive in nature when applied to individuals convicted before the registration system was established. A class of convicted sex offenders filed suit in 2021 and claimed the onerous…
Read MoreAL: Warning from father of teen who took his own life after being sextorted online
Source: wbrc.com 10/4/23 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – A grieving dad is hoping the story of his son’s loss and traumatic last few hours can be a warning to us as parents of teens, and prevent another tragedy like the one his family is now enduring. “Coming up on that one-year anniversary, it’s another day, that’s all it is, another day, but that day will be difficult, it will be hard,” says Brian Montgomery, a father whose life changed completely, and with no warning, one year ago. “It was a normal…
Read MoreUK: Behind the Crime: The Silent Suffering of a Sex Offender’s Family
Source: bnn.network 12/4/23 On a day that was meant to usher in a joyous celebration, a mother named Sarah found her world crumbling. Her husband, the father of her children, was arrested in a police raid on charges of involvement in child sexual abuse material. The chilling discovery of hundreds of illegal images, including Category A content, the most egregious forms of child pornography, was made on her husband’s computer. This event, occurring a day before her son’s birthday, left an indelible imprint on Sarah’s life and her family’s future.…
Read MoreIA: Prisoner advocates feel more hopeless after sex offense civil commitment presentation
Source: newtondailynews.com 12/5/23 Families and advocates of incarcerated individuals at Newton Correctional Facility had been waiting months for the Iowa Board of Corrections to provide some semblance of an answer to their questions regarding the state’s civil commitment program. It was finally put on the agenda. Open for all to see. Although the department of corrections and its board members acknowledged their concerns, advocates left the meeting last month feeling hopeless. Despite a presentation about the sex offender civil commitment referral process from its program manager, Ken Pirc, those in…
Read MoreOH: LGBTQ+ advocates worried about vague language in Ohio’s new ‘grooming’ bill
Source: ohiocapitaljournal.com 12/4/23 A new bill in the Ohio House aiming to punish sexual grooming may have vague enough language that it harms LGBTQ+ youth, some advocates worry. Community is essential for many LGBTQ+ teens. Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) aims to provide that by holding educational programming and discussion groups. “They’re looking for those mentorship-type relationships that all of us need,” said Erin Upchurch, KYC executive director. But now, Upchurch fears a new bill in the Ohio House may target her organization. “The whole idea of it being so vague —…
Read MoreTN: U.S. Dept. of Justice says Tennessee HIV law discriminates
Source: wlns.com 12/1/23 LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The U.S. Department of Justice has notified the state of Tennessee it has determined the state is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by enforcing a law targeting sex workers living with HIV. A 1991 Tennessee law considers sex workers who are HIV-positive to be violent sex offenders, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. “Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution law is outdated, has no basis in science, discourages testing and further marginalizes people living with HIV,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the…
Read MoreME: Orrington residents to choose if they want to limit where sex offenders live
Source: bangordailynews.com 12/1/23 Orrington residents will choose if they want to enact an ordinance that prohibits people on the sex offender registry from living within 750 feet of schools and churches About 35 residents, the board of selectmen, Town Manager Chris Backman and town attorney Andrew Hamilton gathered at the Center Drive School on Thursday to discuss which of three ordinances voters should choose if they decide to vote for the restriction of where registered sex offenders can live. A special town referendum is scheduled for Dec. 11. The public…
Read MoreNJ: Governor, in veto, recommends barring sex offenders from mental health diversion programs
Source: newjerseymonitor.com 11/29/23 Gov. Phil Murphy this week conditionally vetoed a bill that would expand an intervention program to divert some nonviolent criminal defendants to mental health programs, with Murphy recommending lawmakers bar people arrested for sex offenses subject to Megan’s Law. Lawmakers narrowly passed the bill in June along party lines, with Republicans warning it would push violent offenders onto the street. Murphy issued a statement on Monday supporting the spirit of the bill, saying: “Mental health issues should not be unnecessarily criminalized.” “This bill ensures that individuals whose criminal behaviors…
Read MoreTN: Class action lawsuit challenges retroactive placement on Tennessee’s sex offender registry
Source: tennessean.com 11/29/23 Eight people on Tennessee’s legally troubled sex offender registry filed a federal class action lawsuit last week asking that thousands of people with decades-old convictions be removed from the registry. The eight plaintiffs, who are using pseudonyms in the lawsuit, all have convictions from before or shortly after 2004, when the state’s current sex offender registry law, the Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Act, was passed. They are seeking class status for people on Tennessee’s sex offender registry whose convictions predate the law…
Read MoreSD: Advocates looking to add ‘stealthing’ to sexual assault laws
Source: dakotanewsnow.com 11/27/23 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Community advocates and now state legislators are looking to tackle a growing issue nationwide and in South Dakota this upcoming session in Pierre. That’s the growing trend of sex stealthing. It can already be tough for victims of sexual assault to speak up about their experience, or even report it in the first place. That’s the situation that Georgilee Flynn found herself in. “This is something that is near and dear to me, because I was a victim of stealthing,“…
Read MoreIL: Illinois Supreme Court Weighs Constitutionality of Lifetime Restrictions on Child Sex Offenders
Source: news.wttw.com 11/15/23 SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether it is constitutional to impose lifetime restrictions on where a person can live after they’ve been convicted of a sex crime involving a minor. “It’s been 21 years – almost 21 years since my conviction,” Martin Kopf told the court’s seven justices on Wednesday. “I have been totally offense-free. Not even a moving violation. But yet, they still say that I’m dangerous.” … In court challenges, Kopf has represented himself while arguing, among other things, that the law…
Read MoreMO: Registrants Refused Shelter from Sub-Zero Weather by Half-Empty Salvation Army of Jefferson City
Source: newstribune.com 11/27/23 Nine years into offering an overnight shelter, the Salvation Army of Jefferson City is ready whenever winter weather strikes. “It’s something we’re kind of accustomed to now,” Center of Hope director Brian Vogeler said. Sunday marked the end of the first full week the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope offered cold cots, Vogeler said. About seven people utilized them each night, filling about half the shelter’s capacity. … People on the sex offenders’ list cannot use the cots. Read the full article
Read MoreSC: Man charged with 35 child sex crimes in Charleston pleads guilty, gets no prison time
Source: live5news.com 11/22/23 [Note: ACSOL is posting this as an example of unusual sentencing] CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A man facing dozens of charges in connection to attempted child sexual exploitation is now out of jail and will spend no time in prison despite his guilty plea this week. Edward Borne, who is originally from Texas was slapped with 35 charges in Charleston County in July 2023. An investigation by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office shows Borne solicited someone he believed was underage for sex and encouraged them to…
Read MoreTX: Here’s how certain Texas sex offenders are getting their information taken off the registry
Source: news4sanantonio.com 11/20/23 For certain Texas sex offenders, a lifetime on the sex offender registry may not always be a lifetime. A little known law that has been around for more than a decade allows certain offenders to have their information removed from the list. While some believe the state statute negatively impacts public safety, others, including licensed sex offender treatment provider, Bruce Cameron, believe the law improves public safety. “I have guys that have told me, ‘Hey, doing prison was easy. Being on the registry – that’s a life…
Read MoreNY: The Adult Survivors Act launched over 2,500 sex abuse suits. Now, it’s expiring
Source: apnews.com 11/20/23 ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — For a year, a special New York law has cleared the way for a wave of headline-grabbing lawsuits against famous men accused of sexual misconduct, including former President Donald Trump, hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and the comedian and actor Russell Brand. But when the Adult Survivors Act expires after Thanksgiving, it also will have led to a multitude of legal claims by women who say they were sexually abused while serving time in the New York’s prisons and jails. More than…
Read MoreTN: Issues with the Sex Offender Registry
Source: newschannel5.com 11/16/23 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Local constitutional rights attorney Kyle Mothershead joins Levi Ismail on OpenLine to advocate for people who struggle with still being registered as a sex offender – even years after conviction. Watch the video
Read MoreIL: Chicago judge finds ban on guns for felon unconstitutional in controversial ruling
Source: newsbreak.com 11/16/23 In a ruling that seems fated to find its way before the U.S. Supreme Court, a judge in Illinois has recently found that the gun rights of a felon convicted of multiple armed robberies are protected by the Second Amendment. Ex felons prohibited from owning guns unless ex sponged, pardon etc. Is unconstitutional without historical support and the state failed to meet its burden to show any relationship to increase in gun violence Read the full article
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