Category: National

Colorado’s tough sex offender laws are supposed to keep predators under tight supervision. But a series of lawsuits claim that the system is violating even minor offenders’ rights to free speech and association, prohibiting contact with family members — and, in one particularly bizarre case, telling a 62-year-old man that a discussion with a stepdaughter about her pregnancy constitutes unlawful “third party contact with a child.” Boulder civil rights attorney Alison Ruttenberg has filed at least three federal lawsuits in recent months challenging actions taken by probation officers and others responsible…

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TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) – As a matter of policy, WLFI does not cover suicides. Numerous studies point to a potential “copycat effect” following media coverage of suicides. But when the mother of a 14-year-old girl who took her own life due to bullying reached out to us, we had to tell her story.   Danielle Green’s daughter hanged herself from a tree outside the family’s mobile home park on March 5. … Danielle says the bullying started on Feb. 28 of 2012. She says Angel’s father was put in jail for…

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Miracle Village is so remote, the residents compare themselves to lepers. Two miles of sugar cane separate 100 men from nearby Pahokee, itself a flyspeck on the shores of Lake Okeechobee. They fill the skeleton shacks of an abandoned sugar-company town. This is among the only places to live comfortably as a sex offender in South Florida. For many of these men, pushed to the fringe by residency restrictions, Miracle Village was the last net before homelessness. “In the beginning, no one wanted us around,” said Pat Powers, director of Matthew 25 Ministries,…

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On an overcast spring day in 1996, a handful of people filed out of the Oval Office and assembled on the driveway of the White House before a scrum of reporters. They cast satisfied glances at the television cameras as birds chirped and a helicopter whirred nearby. Nothing except for the white memorial ribbons pinned to their lapels indicated the nature of their fateful connection to each other as the parents of children kidnapped by strangers and, in all but one case, viciously assaulted and murdered. Full Article

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De Pere becomes the first community in Northeast Wisconsin to repeal its sex offender residency ordinance. In a 5-to-3 vote last night, the city council moved to no longer limit where convicted sex offenders can live. For the last three years, registered sex offenders in De Pere, unless approved by a city residency board, could not live within 500 feet of where children gather, like schools, parks and churches. Now, that city ordinance is no more. “Well I’m very happy, I think ultimately repealing our sex offender residency ordinance makes our community…

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PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – Two juveniles have been arrested in connection with a videotaped sex act in the library at Fivay High School in Pasco County, according to a sheriff’s statement.  Deputies say a 17-year-old boy had sex with a 15-year-old girl, reportedly on tables behind some book shelves.  Thy say the act was videotaped by a 15-year-old boy and shared via Bluetooth transmission with a female student.  The 17-year-old boy is now charged with lewd or lascivious battery. The student who videotaped the act is charged with transmission of…

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A Florida appeals court has decided that posting threats on one’s personal Facebook page can be prosecuted under the state’s “sending written threats to kill or do bodily harm” law.  The 1st District Court of Appeal on Monday ruled in a case that a Facebook post could be considered a “sending” for the purposes of the law. Article

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NY Times – Room for Debate: Lawmakers have to ask what restrictions make people safer, and which just create new problems like camps of homeless sex offenders. Full Article (5 Articles)

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‘Congressional Research Service’ Report, Recommends Increasing Good Time Credits and Reinstating Parole for Federal Offenders. [FCN/INST-170203] – Historic, Groundbreaking ‘Congressional Research Service’ 2013 Report – Recommends Increasing Good Time Credits and Reinstating Parole for Federal Offenders. FedCURE Special Report: Alleluia! After more then twenty-five years of campaigning for federal criminal justice reforms, to reduce the federal prison population, comes an historic, ground-breaking 2013 report, from of all places the Congressional Research Service (CRS)* titled, “The Federal Prison Population Buildup: Overview, Policy Changes, Issues, and Options.” The report documents the United…

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TRENTON — Legislators approved a bill this month that will strengthen Megan’s Law to ensure state agencies do not place homeless and evacuated families near registered sex offenders. The issue was brought to light last year during a train derailment and subsequent evacuation in Paulsboro. A family with two teenage daughters was relocated to a Gibbstown motel that also housed a registered sex offender. State Sen. Fred Madden, D-Gloucester, called the bill he sponsored “common-sense legislation” that will close a dangerous loophole in the law. Full Article

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The state Department of Corrections plans to start moving the first of up to nearly 300 violent or predatory sex offenders to a privately run detention facility in Otero County next month — despite objections from lawmakers. Corrections officials say the move will save money and provide better treatment options for sex offenders “who will be released” at some point. But the plan is drawing fire from key legislators, who question the wisdom of putting 288 predatory sex offenders in what they described as a “county jail.” Full Article

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A 14-year-old New Jersey girl is facing child pornography charges for posting almost 30 nude photos of herself on MySpace. If she is convicted, the girl may have to register as a sex offender. According to The Daily News, this case is just one example of a larger effort by law enforcement officials across the country to crack down on child pornography. Prosecutors now routinely bring charges resulting from kids sending nude photos to one another over cell phones and e-mail. This case may be unique in that it is…

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People wishing to swim at Dublin’s two pools or exercise at its recreation center will have their names and photos checked against state and national sex-offender registries. If there’s a match, the person won’t be allowed in and Dublin police will be called. The city council, in approving the measure last week, said it is simply one more step toward ensuring the safety of others. Others see it differently. Full Article

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COLUMBIA, S.C. — ____ ____ will spend the next 18 months in a federal prison for 15 minutes worth of sex videos he made with his teenage girlfriend. The girlfriend, who knew ____ was videoing at the time, was 16– which made her a minor under a federal sex offender law meant to apply to serious sex crimes. Having the video on his cellphone meant ____ violated federal law by possessing child pornography. Full Article

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Section 2250 outlaws an individual’s failure to comply with federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) requirements. SORNA demands that an individual—previously convicted of a qualifying federal, state, or foreign sex offense—register with state, territorial, or tribal authorities. Individuals must register in every jurisdiction in which they live, work, or attend school. They must also update the information whenever they move, or change their employment or educational status. Section 2250 applies only under one of several jurisdictional circumstances: the individual was previously convicted of a qualifying federal sex offense;…

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In a unique way this judge resolves the issue so that it cannot happen again. And retains jurisdiction, apparently forever. In essence, overnight shelters ARE NOT a residence under MI SORA’s residency law. Full Article / Decision

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