ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota lawmakers are getting nowhere over how to resolve constitutional questions about the state’s sex offender treatment program, but the same can’t be said about the program’s costs. They’re going somewhere — up. Full Article
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AR: Police Check On Sex Offenders As Spring Break Looms
Multiple agencies in Sebastian and Crawford counties conducted a sex offender compliance operation this week in preparation for keeping the community safe during spring break, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Operation “Safe Break” confirmed compliance with 452 offenders, checking on them to make sure they are following all sex offender requirements, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Authorities made four arrests during the operation, which involved non-compliance with sex offender registration. Officers will also be seeking warrants on another 10 offenders not arrested during the operation but who appear…
Read MoreTX: Houston father shoots and kills boy in teen daughter’s room
A Houston father shot and killed a teenage boy he found in the room of his 16-year-old daughter in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said. The father heard noises coming from the room and went to investigate. Upon finding the 17-year-old boy with his daughter, the father got into a fight with the boy, and “the homeowner, who was armed, shot the male once,” the office said. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Dozens of sex offenders in Suffolk gave wrong addresses
Dozens of registered sex offenders living in Suffolk County provided inaccurate addresses in the year since county lawmakers passed a law to intensify monitoring of the ex-convicts, and more than 140 others were found to have violated rules requiring them to update their photos on a state registry. Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law, contracted by the county last year to monitor more than 900 registered sex offenders, told lawmakers Thursday that the increased scrutiny has led to an increase in arrests for violating state reporting requirements.…
Read MoreIN: Many sex offenders fail to register with the state
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – I-Team 8 has learned deputies in Colorado were after an Indiana sex offender the day they say he murdered a mother and her two children, just five and nine years old. I-Team 8 Chief Investigative Reporter Karen Hensel has uncovered ___ ___ once on parole in Indiana, failed to register. ____ moved from Indiana to Colorado in 2012 where he was required to register four times a year. Colorado deputies tell I-Team 8 he was supposed to register March 4. A five day grace period meant the…
Read MoreTX: ‘Failure to register’ nets sex offender 60 years
A Willis man was convicted to 60 years in prison Tuesday for failure to register as a sex offender. A Montgomery County jury in the 435th District Court found ___ ___ ___, 59, guilty of failure to register as a sex offender Monday, and District Court Judge Michael T. Seiler sentenced ___ to 60 years in prison on Tuesday. “We are very pleased with the jury’s verdict and the judge’s sentence,” said assistant prosecutor Shanna Redwine. “Both the jury and the judge obviously appreciate the danger of having a convicted…
Read MoreID: Man Sentenced for Felony Battery on Registered Sex Offender
TWIN FALLS – A man convicted of felony aggravated battery for beating a 69-year-old man was sentenced Monday in Twin Falls County District Court. Bradley Houser, 35, was sentenced to the state’s retained jurisdiction program. He will attend the Correctional Alternative Placement Program through the Idaho Department of Correction. After the program, a judge can either put Houser on probation or send him to prison for an underlying sentence of three to 15 years. Houser was also ordered to reimburse the county public defender’s office for $500 and was ordered to pay…
Read MoreME: Bill prohibiting sex offender living restrictions raises worry
CONCORD — A bill prohibiting residency restrictions for registered sex offenders and offenders against children which was passed by the House of Representatives earlier this month is causing concern among some legislators, who say the bill would strip communities of their ability to protect children. HB 1237 is based upon two court decisions where judges found local ordinances restricting residency for offenders to be unconstitutional. One of the cases cited came out of Dover District Court. In August of 2009, Dover’s ordinance that prohibited registered sex offenders from living within…
Read MoreFL: Longer sentences linked to increased recidivism
Letter to the Editor – The conclusion of Florida’s 2014 Legislature will see children at greater risk, not safer. Principal among the proposals “strengthening” laws to protect children are measures to lengthen prison terms for sex crimes, and widening the range of sentences that lead to eligibility for civil commitment. The Colorado Department of Public Safety issued a report in February 2008, “What Works —Effective Recidivism Reduction and Risk-Focused Prevention Programs.” Numerous evidence-based studies were cited that uniformly and conclusively linked longer prison sentences with increased recidivism. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Council drops proposal to ban sex offenders in Wallingford parks
WALLINGFORD — Regulations preventing sex offenders from entering parks won’t be pursued by the Town Council, the ordinance committee determined Thursday night. Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, chairman of the committee, said the opinion of the Law Department was sought after the committee spoke on the issue in past meetings. Fishbein said Corporation Counsel Janis Small issued memos to the committee — made up by the Town Council — on Feb. 26 and Feb. 28 with information on how other municipalities and states handled similar bans. Other municipalities in Connecticut have…
Read MoreOK: Sexting Teens Wouldn’t Be Sex Offenders Under New Bill
Minors convicted of sexting wouldn’t be labeled as sex offenders under a bill passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The House unanimously approved HB 2541 by Rep. Terry O’Donnell (R-Catoosa) on Tuesday. Under current law, teens who exchange sexually explicated messages and photographs can be charged with child pornography and labeled sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreThe Sex Offender Shuffle
Washington Post Opinion Section: I know the term Kafkesque is overused, but I mean come on.The Chicago Police Department forces sex offenders to violate their parole. I know that sounds crazy. I thought it was crazy when I first heard about it, but I’ve spent a lot of time in the last two weeks with sex offenders waiting — for hours and hours — outside police headquarters and watching a Kafkaesque process play out. Full Op-Ed Piece
Read MoreMN: Against Publicly Registering Children
Letter to the Editor – What if the worst thing you ever did was posted on the internet for the whole world to see? What if you did that thing as a child but have to wear it like a scarlet letter forever? Full Letter
Read MoreIL: Crowded Chicago Police office forces sex offenders to violate parole
The Chicago Police Department forces sex offenders to violate their parole. I know that sounds crazy. I thought it was crazy when I first heard about it, but I’ve spent a lot of time in the last two weeks with sex offenders waiting — for hours and hours — outside police headquarters and watching a Kafkaesque process play out. Every morning sex offenders start lining up at 6, while it’s still dark out, sometimes even earlier than that, and I probably don’t have to remind you how cold it’s been…
Read MoreFL: State senators fast track sex offender legislation
State senators are poised to pass landmark legislation aimed at better protecting Floridians from rapists and child molesters Tuesday, the first day of the annual Legislative session. “I don’t want to let one more day go by without making Florida scorched earth for sexual predators,” said Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville. The package of four bills would toughen sex-crime sentences, increase community monitoring, and keep more of the most dangerous offenders confined after their prison terms end. It would provide the most comprehensive overhaul of sex offender legislation in more than…
Read MoreMA: Porn debate over National Geographic photo goes to SJC
The question of whether a photo of a naked boy in National Geographic constitutes child pornography when found in the troubling jailhouse stash of a convicted sex offender goes before the state’s highest court today. “After a summer day’s swim, a boy returns to his new bike,” reads the caption under award-winning photojournalist Lynn Johnson’s picture in “Inside the Dragon,” the magazine’s 2008 special edition on China. The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office convinced a grand jury that in the prison footlocker of convicted sex offender ____ ____, the image merited…
Read MoreVA: Flaws in the state’s sex offender registry
The Virginia Sex Offender Registry exists to keep society safe, especially its children. Sometimes, it does just the opposite. Sometimes, the law that prevents sex offenders from being on school property and around kids isolates and stigmatizes innocent people. It can ruin lives. Full Article
Read MoreOR: Teen sexting – A photo sent, life changed forever
A law creates a three-tiered sex offender registration system BEND — Sexting — sending nude pictures or arousing text messages — has become part of our modern-day life. But for one Central Oregon teen, who wants to remain anonymous, sending one picture changed his life. “I’m on supervised probation for 120 months, which is 10 years — and I sent a picture,” he said. Last year, when he was 18 years old and in high school, he sent a nude picture to his friend, a 15-year-old girl. Although there was never any…
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