Source: reason.com 10/23/24 “Invoking the innocence of children is not…a magic incantation sufficient for legislatures to run roughshod over the First Amendment rights of adults.” It seems that a puritanical wave is sweeping the country as state governments increasingly try to make it more difficult to access pornography from within their borders. A lawsuit is challenging one of those laws, and this week, a federal judge allowed it to continue. Montana is one of multiple states in recent years to pass a law requiring pornographic websites to verify users’ ages. Under Senate…
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FL: 47 Sex Workers and 96 Clients Arrested in Florida ‘Human Trafficking’ Sting/Sham
Source: reason.com 10/21/24 Polk County, Florida, continues to be one of the worst offenders for sham efforts to combat human trafficking. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) is publicizing “Operation Autumn Sweep” as a “human trafficking operation” that netted 157 arrests, including 25 arrests of illegal immigrants. But the vast majority of those arrested are accused not of anything the average American would view as trafficking. Instead, they were allegedly either soliciting prostitution or offering to commit prostitution. After posing online as either (adult) sex workers or prospective customers, cops…
Read MoreMD: 13-year-old boy charged for sex offense on University of Maryland campus
Source: dcnewsnow.com 10/18/24 [ACSOL note: this shows the need to educate children in how to avoid violating the law] COLLEGE PARK, Md. (DC News Now) — A 13-year-old boy was charged with a sex offense at the University of Maryland (UMD), police said Thursday. … A student told police that around 11 a.m., she was walking in that area when a “young male” walked up to her and started to ask her questions. She said that during that conversation, the boy touched her inappropriately before running away and leaving down…
Read MoreKY: AG defending state law requiring child sex offers to use full name on social media
Source: amnews.com 10/17/24 As a parent, I’m grateful to my own State Senator, Lindsey Tichenor, and Kentucky’s legislators who are protecting our children from predators,” Coleman stated. “This statute doesn’t ban any speech, but it simply empowers kids and their parents to know who may be lurking in the shadows of the internet. The law clearly passes constitutional muster, and we hope the Sixth Circuit will quickly allow it to take full effect.” The brief noted, “The law is therefore little different than sex-offender registry laws, whose constitutionality is not…
Read MoreMO: Attorney General Files Notice of Appeal in Missouri Halloween Case
Source: ACSOL The Missouri Attorney General filed a notice of appeal today notifying a federal district court in Eastern Missouri that they will seek review of that court’s decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The district court’s decision permanently prohibits enforcement of a state law that requires registrants in Missouri to post a sign on their residence on Halloween. “We are not surprised that the Attorney General has filed a notice of appeal in this case,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The filing of this notice, however,…
Read MoreTim Ballard files lawsuits against women accusing him of sexual assault
Source: thespectator.com 10/10/24 A number have alleged the subject of Sound of Freedom used the ‘couples ruse’ as a pretext to make unwanted sexual advances Timothy Ballard, the founder of Operation Underground Railroad and subject of the film Sound of Freedom, has filed lawsuits against seven women who are accusing him of sexual assault: Celeste Borys, Sashaleigha Hightower, Mary Hall, Kira Lynch, Krista Kacey, Bree Righter and Amy Morgan Davis. Specific accusations against Ballard include pretending to have sex with Borys in the shower, grinding, grabbing, kissing and licking. “It…
Read MoreNothing Sums Up the Sex Offender Registry Quite Like Halloween
Source: filtermag.org 10/9/24 Since 2008, people on sex offender registries in Missouri have been required to post a sign at their home each year on October 31: No candy or treats at this residence. In a ruling issued October 2, a federal judge found the signs unconstitutional because they’re a form of “compelled speech”—when the state forces you to express a viewpoint you don’t agree with. Judge John A. Ross noted two other courts to previously address similar Halloween signs, both of which found them unconstitutional for the same reason. California overturned the requirement in 2012. Georgia…
Read MoreMO: Children’s Advocacy Center reminds parents they are responsible for their children’s safety on Halloween
Source: yahoo.com 10/7/24 ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A long-standing Missouri Halloween statute for registered sex offenders has been abolished, striking down the requirement for posting warning signs outside of their homes. Since 2008, state law mandates that offenders stay indoors, keep their lights off, and display the signs to warn trick-or-treaters. Hazelwood resident Thomas Sanderson challenged the law after he was arrested days after Halloween 2022 for having a large display and handing out candy. Sanderson claimed the law forced him to express a message he didn’t agree with.…
Read MoreMO: This Halloween, Missouri sex offenders won’t have to post warning signs outside homes
Source: webstercountycitizen.com 10/4/24 ST. LOUIS — The state of Missouri can no longer require sex offenders to post signs outside their homes on Halloween stating “No candy or treats at this residence,” a federal judge ruled this week. Hazelwood resident Thomas Sanderson filed suit last year arguing the sign requirement violated his free speech rights because it forced him to make a statement with which he didn’t agree. This week, U.S. District Judge John A. Ross agreed, finding the sign requirement was a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.…
Read MoreMO: Federal Court Grants Permanent Statewide Injunction in Missouri
Source: ACSOL A federal district court in Missouri has granted a permanent statewide injunction that prohibits the enforcement of a Halloween sign requirement in that state. As a result of this injunction registrants in Missouri will not be required to post a sign on their home on Halloween. The permanent injunction does not apply, however, to the remaining Halloween restrictions that prohibit registrants from giving candy to children, decorate or their homes or leave on porch lights that day. Any registrant who violates those prohibitions could be convicted of a…
Read MoreMI: Federal judge rules on ACLU lawsuit over Michigan’s sex offender registry
Source: detroitnews.com 10/1/24 A federal judge in Detroit has ruled parts of Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act are unconstitutional, ACLU officials of Michigan said Monday. It said the decision will affect tens of thousands of people and follows two recent rulings by the Michigan Supreme Court, as well as numerous federal court decisions dating back to 2013. Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith ruled on a lawsuit the ACLU filed in February 2022 on behalf of several Michigan sex offenders over the state law, which was first passed in…
Read MoreNJ: N.J. S. Ct. Will Decide Whether Journalist May Publish Police Chief’s Home Address
Source: reason.com 9/26/24 The N.J. intermediate appellate court held such publication wasn’t protected by the First Amendment law; the state high court just agreed to reconsider that. The question presented is, Is Daniel’s Law, N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.1 and N.J.S.A. 2C:20-31.1, which prohibits disclosing the home addresses of certain public officials, including judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement personnel, unconstitutional as applied to plaintiff? Here’s an excerpt of the lower court opinion, Kratovil v. City of New Brunswick: Read the full article
Read MoreKS: Kansas Supreme Court affirms police conduct allegedly ‘akin to a psychological rubber hose’
Source: newsfromthestates.com 9/23/24 The Kansas Supreme Court reversed a Saline County judge’s decision to suppress a confession despite exaggerated claims by detectives that a computer voice stress test was 100% accurate and proved a defendant lied about his innocence in an alleged sexual abuse case. A split state Supreme Court affirmed the 2022 conclusion of the Kansas Court of Appeals that an earlier decision by Saline County Judge Jared Johnson incorrectly ruled Phillip Jason Garrett’s confession was coerced by Salina Police Department detectives in violation of 5th and 14th amendments…
Read MoreCyber Technology in Federal Crime
Source: United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) 9/18/24 There has been little analysis on the individuals sentenced for a federal offense who used cyber technology for illegal purposes. In developing this report, the Commission collected information on individuals sentenced for offenses using cryptocurrency, the dark web, and hacking for fiscal years 2014 through 2021. This report provides demographic and sentencing information for those individuals who used at least one of three types of cyber technology during their offenses—hacking, cryptocurrency, and the dark web—along with the types of offenses committed using these…
Read MoreAppeals court upholds sex crimes conviction of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell
Source: abc7.com 9/17/24 A federal appeals court in New York on Tuesday upheld the sex crimes conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associated of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Ghislaine, in March, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to overturn her conviction and 20-year prison sentence for recruiting and grooming the underage girls who Epstein sexually abused, arguing she was immunized by an agreement federal prosecutors in Florida arranged with Epstein in 2007. On Tuesday, the appeals court ruled that Maxwell was not covered by…
Read MoreTX: The ‘Lights Out’ program makes trick-or-treating safer by rounding up sex offenders
Source: msn.com/KTXS Halloween is rapidly approaching and a top priority for parents is keeping their children safe. For over 20 years Taylor County has hosted a program called Lights Out to make trick-or-treating safer. “Everyone that’s on probation who is a sex offender they have to come that night from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.,” Rikki Flores said. “Doesn’t matter what day Halloween is on they are required to be here during those hours.” The licensed sexual offender treatment provider said approximated 140 sex offenders will be at the Taylor…
Read MoreWA: Washington Prisoner’s Sentence Vacated After Attorney Calls and Visits Were Recorded
Source: prisonlegalnews.org 8/15/24 On January 23, 2024, the Washington Court of Appeals sent the case of a state prisoner back to the trial court that convicted him of second-degree domestic violence rape and assault, finding the counts must be dismissed or retried because officials at the jail where he was detained pretrial eavesdropped on his privileged communications with his attorney. In its ruling, the Court reaffirmed that when a state actor violates a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel by breaching the attorney-client privilege, prejudice is presumed and the state…
Read MoreAZ: Arizona DOC Agrees to Pay $2,650,000 in Legal Fees and Costs in Long-Running PLN Censorship Suit
Source: prisonlegalnews.org 8/15/24 On May 3, 2024, Arizona’s Department of Corrections (DOC) settled a federal censorship lawsuit brought by PLN’s publisher,the Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC). Under the agreement, DOC paid $2,650,000 to cover HRDC’s attorneys’ fees and expenses in connection with the successful litigation, the largest such award in a prison censorship case in U.S. history. Until 2014, DOC prisoners routinely received issues of PLN. That year, however, DOC began to censor numerous issues for “sexually explicit material” that violated its mail policy; the articles in question, however, merely…
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