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…
Read MoreCategory: National
Sex offender village grows out of residency restrictions
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,…
Read MorePatty Wetterling questions sex offender laws
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
Read MoreWI: De Pere City Council Votes to Repeal Sex Offender Residency Ordinance
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…
Read MoreCalifornia RSOL Challenges Websites in Federal District Court
California Reform Sex Offender Laws (CA RSOL) filed a lawsuit in federal district court today challenging websites which identify individuals as sex offenders and include their personal information including names, photos, and home addresses as well as demand up to $500 for removal of that information from the websites. Offendex – Press Release
Read MoreFL: Two arrested in videotaped school sex incident at Fivay High School
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…
Read MoreFL: Threats posted on Facebook are crimes
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
Read MoreToo Many Restrictions on Sex Offenders, or Too Few?
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)
Read More‘Congressional Research Service’ Report, Recommends Increasing Good Time Credits and Reinstating Parole for Federal Offenders
‘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…
Read MoreNJ: Proposed Megan’s Law update aims to protect evacuees
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
Read MoreNM: Mass sex offender transfer planned
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
Read MoreNJ: 14-Year-Old New Jersey Girl to Register as Sex Offender After Posting Nude Photos on Myspace?
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…
Read MoreOH: Dublin rec center ups screening for sex offenders
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
Read MoreSC: Boyfriend gets lifetime sex offender status for cellphone video
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
Read MoreFederal: Failure to Register as a Sex Offender: A Legal Analysis of 18 U.S.C. 2250
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;…
Read MoreMI: RSO Freezes to Death – Federal District Court Case
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
Read MoreOH: Web sites profiting from mug shots sued
There’s a good chance that if you’ve been arrested in the past decade, your mugshot is available online, probably on numerous Web sites. A Toledo-based lawyer, Scott Ciolek, is taking on at least five of these sites, of which there are dozens, in a class-action lawsuit filed Monday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. The suit claims that more than 259,000 Ohioans have been cataloged on various mugshot Web sites and, to have a photo removed — even if an individual has been found not guilty or the charges were…
Read MoreNJ: Emails show FBI investigating Sen. Bob Menendez for sleeping with underage Dominican prostitutes
Documents published online for the first time Thursday indicate that the FBI opened an inquiry into New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez on August 1, 2012, focusing on repeated trips he took to the Dominican Republic with longtime campaign contributor and Miami eye doctor Salomon Melgen. The DC reported in November that Menendez purchased the service of prostitutes in that Caribbean nation at a series of alcohol-fueled sex parties. Full Article
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