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.…
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OH: 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
Read MoreFL: Did the police entrap student during sex sting?
There are few things worse than a 24-year-old man seeking sex from a 13-year-old girl, or so it would seem. They should lock him up and throw away the key, or so it would seem. But sometimes, things aren’t what they seem. Full Op-Ed Piece
Read MoreMN: Sex offender’s case gets review board hearing
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal hearings in July will focus on whether one man in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program should be released. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank and U.S. Magistrate Jeffrey Keyes put the man’s case on a fast track after attorney Dan Gustafson argued that every day his client is still confined is a violation of his rights. Full Article
Read MoreWA: Benton County judge bars county from providing sex offender data
KENNEWICK — A Benton County judge’s signature Friday on four separate orders cleared the way for Donna Zink to appeal in her pursuit to get information on low-level sex offenders. Superior Court Judge Bruce Spanner has barred the county from fulfilling the Mesa woman’s request for the names of more than 400 Level 1 sex offenders, their registration forms and letters sent to them after Zink first filed for the public records last year. Spanner ruled in January that the personal information is confidential and could cause irreparable harm to…
Read MoreAL: New law forces Chilton. Co. sex offenders to leave pastor’s backyard
Since 2010, 53 sex offenders released from prison have moved in to trailers in Ricky Martin’s backyard. The property is located at 40 County Road 374 in Chilton County. Of those 53 convicted offenders, 32 are convicted rapists and 21 have been convicted of molestation. 43 committed crimes against children. Martin pastors Triumph Church, also on his property. Neighbors tell WIAT 42 they do not feel safe in their homes. Full Article
Read MoreAZ: Kindergartner, 5, is accused of sexual misconduct
An Arizona mother is outraged after her 5-year-old son was accused of sexual misconduct for pulling his pants down on the playground. Erica Martinez says her little boy, ____, was playing at Ashton Ranch Elementary School in April when another student told him to pull his pants down or else he would do it for him. Her son complied, pulling down his pants and underwear in front of several other students, but then he was hauled into the principal’s office by his teacher, she says. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Duty to Register – The Requirements and Limitations of a Sex Offender
Every year, some 360 individuals in Tom Green County are required to report to local offices and fill out forms listing their addresses, places of employment and vehicles. Some are required to submit DNA samples and contact information for their nearest relatives. Others complete the process every 30 or 90 days. Three hundred thirty-two of them live in five San Angelo zip codes, ranging from 76901-76905. They’re registered sex offenders, and the majority will remain so for the rest of their lives.Full Article
Read MoreMO: Springfield sued over order to close group home
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri nonprofit has filed a lawsuit contending that the city of Springfield violated federal and city laws when it ordered the closure of a group home for recovering alcoholics, drug addicts and sex offenders. Recovery Chapel and its executive director, Farris Robertson, said in the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday against the city and its Board of Adjustment that the city’s refusal to allow the group home violates the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as local zoning codes. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Security upgrades at Carthage Central School District screen sex offenders
Visitors to Carthage Central School District buildings will go through a new security system for admission that will cross-reference a national sex offender registry and provide visitors with a personalized pass with their photo printed on it. “Essentially most schools have a sign-in sheet to monitor who comes into the school,” said Ramona Dent, district director of computer technology. “Sign-in sheets aren’t nearly as secure. The biggest positive is we will now truly know who is in our school district at all times.” Full Article
Read MoreOH: New Sex Offender Requirements for Long Term Care Facilities
Nursing homes, residential care facilities and county homes (“Homes”) in Ohio will soon have additional requirements related to the admission of a registered sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Chicago police easing registration process for sex offenders
Illinois legislators love to pass laws to punish sex offenders. But those laws always increase restrictions. No legislator wants to decrease restrictions on sex offenders, because that would not look good on a mailer by an opponent in the next election. Full Article
Read MoreRI: Bill would make businesses rethink hiring sex offenders
The Rhode Island General Assembly passed a bill Friday that would fine certain businesses for knowingly hiring a child sex offender. Target 12 broke the story that prompted action, and now, a new state law is in place to protect children from sexual predators. In the final days of the legislative session, the Alliance for Safe Communities was closely watching its bill about child safe zones. Full Article
Read MoreMA: Quincy councilors upset sex offender was employed by city’s trash hauler
A registered sex offender worked for almost a year for the company that collects residential trash in Quincy, violating terms of the city’s $3.5 million contract with the Boston-based hauler, Sunrise Scavenger, said Ward 4 City Councilor Brian Palmucci. Palmucci called the breach a public safety issue, a concern echoed by Ward 6 City Councilor Brian McNamee, who wants city leaders to prevent it from happening again. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Local Officers’ Suggestion Leads To New Law
OKLAHOMA CITY – A new law set to take effect Nov. 1 will close a loophole in the current sex offender registration statutes.House Bill 3016, by Rep. Sean Roberts and Sen. AJ Griffin, will require sex offenders to register in Oklahoma if they spend 14 days in the state in a 60-day period. Current law only requires them to register if they spend seven consecutive days in the state. Full Article
Read MoreRegistered Sex Offender Denied Class Enrollment
Those lifetime sex offender and sexual predator labels are hard to overcome. Just ask a Washington County man who’s been denied enrollment at a local vocational school. School administrations refused his admission application because minors also attend the school. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Cleveland Mayor seeks gun offender registry, firearms rationing as part of new city ordinances
Mayor Frank Jackson announced Tuesday a plan to combat gun violence in Cleveland that would include a gun offender registry, rationing purchases and other controversial measures. He stated in a press conference that the multi-tiered approach was designed with consultation from the city’s attorneys in an effort to overhaul existing gun regulations in the Forest City. “We’re not going to just sit around and be helpless. We’re not going to take on the victim mentality that there’s nothing we can do. There is something we can do,” said Mayor Frank…
Read MoreNY: Second Circuit rejects array of challenges to lengthy extension of sex offender registration requirement
For a number of years, sex offenders consistently lost in state and federal courts when challenging various sex offender registration requirements and other restrictions on various grounds. In recent years, however, it seems at least a few registered sex offenders are having at least a little success with court challenges to new sex offender registration requirements that seem especially punitive or onerous. But a Second Circuit panel ruling today in Doe v. Cuomo, No. 12-4288 (2d Cir. June 16, 2014) (available here), provides a useful reminder of the uphill battle registered…
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