Source: prisonlegalnews.org 10/15/23 A divided Washington Supreme Court beat back prejudice with a November 2022 decision admitting a convicted sex offender to the state bar. Zachary LeRoy Stevens was charged as a teenager with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor for sending child pornography to a detective posing as a 14-year-old online. He pleaded guilty to reduced charges of voyeurism in 2012, serving less than a year in jail and on home detention. He was also required to register as a sex offender. Stevens had previously been convicted…
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LA: Some good Halloween news from Louisiana
Source: NARSOL 10/31/23 NARSOL is pleased to report that our efforts to end the practice of “No-candy” Halloween warning signs have borne fruit in Louisiana. This outcome is a direct result of the precedential case in Georgia NARSOL sponsored, McClendon v. Long. A week before Halloween, 2023, NARSOL made the determination that three specific parishes in Louisiana were requiring everyone on the sex offender registry within their jurisdictions to post “No candy at this residence” signs on their house; in their yard; or, in one of the three, on the…
Read MoreMA: Hampden County Probation visits sex offenders on Halloween to ensure their lights are off
Source: masslive.com 10/31/23 SPRINGFIELD — Children dressed as superheroes, a ghost and one with an inflatable bat costume were running down the sidewalk trick-or-treating but when they hit Merimac Street they found one home dark and unwelcoming. While the children may have been disappointed to have to skip the house, a team of officers from the Hampden County Probation Department were happy to see it looking forbidding since at least two men who live there are registered sex offenders. When John Sandillo pounded on the door unannounced, they could hear…
Read MoreTX: Texas City man found guilty in sex offender murder
Source: galvnews.com 10/27/23 A Galveston County jury Friday convicted a 23-year-old man of murder in connection to a 2021 bar beating death of a sex offender, according to court records. Taylor Christopher Requenes, 23, of Texas City, is set to return to court on Monday for sentencing. Requenes is one of five accused of beating Danny Sanders, 65, a registered sex offender, to death outside a bar. Just after midnight on May 22, 2021, five men attacked Sanders outside a saloon and dance hall at 3317 Loop 197 in…
Read MoreMissouri good news! 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds TRO, Denies AG’s Motion
In a terse two-sentence decision issued today, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the federal district court on Friday. As a result, registrants in Missouri are not required to post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween this year. “We are grateful that the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to protect registrants as well as their families and homes,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “It was a difficult battle and we won!” The specific ruling today…
Read MoreDE: Hawkins: Bill allowing options for Sex Offender Registry removal is gift to children
Source: baytobaynews.com 10/26/23 Kudos to our legislators for passing House Bill 186 during Delaware’s 2023 legislative session and to Gov. John Carney for signing the bill into law. HB 186 will provide pathways off the Delaware Sexual Offender Central Registry for our children. It is important for Delawareans to know that the multitude of sexual offense laws in our state apply to every single person, regardless of age or gender. No one is exempt. … Delaware’s sexual offender registry is publicly available. In addition, registrants’ employers, landlords, neighbors and schools…
Read MoreTN: Tennessee’s legal struggles with its sex offender registry could cost taxpayer
Source: tennessean.com 10/29/23 NOTE: since we posted this article the website blocked it with pay-only access Dozens of people have scored legal wins against Tennessee’s sex offender registry law since federal judges ruled it violates constitutional protections against retroactive punishment. The situation could cost Tennessee taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney fees. Judges have repeatedly ruled against the law, and a recent development has made it so those with convictions from more than 20 years ago can be removed in a matter of weeks if they can…
Read MoreTN: Prosecutors said she was a victim. She still had to register as a sex offender in Tennessee
Source: tennessean.com 10/29/23 NOTE: since we posted this article the website blocked it with pay-only access As things stand, she’ll be considered a violent sexual offender the rest of her life. She’s had to say this hundreds of times, and she knows how people tend to react. But she hopes you’ll give her a chance to explain this time. A newspaper headline about the circumstances that led to her arrest, guilty plea and eventual placement on Tennessee’s sex offender registry described her as a “sex slave.” Court documents show…
Read MoreGA: Effingham County Sheriff’s Office continues to keep “dangerous” sex offenders off the streets during Halloween weekend
Source: wsav.com 10/26/23 EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — Law enforcement in Effingham County is upping their presence in the public during the holiday weekend, and they are making sure sex offenders are not on the streets during trick-or-treating. “We want to make sure that the kids have a stressless event for Halloween,” Brian Bailey, public information officer with the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, said. That is why Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie requires sex offenders with serious offenses to report to the jail on Halloween between the hours of 6 to 9…
Read MoreMissouri TRO Challenged by Attorney General
The Attorney General of Missouri has filed a motion for emergency stay that, if granted, would allow the government to enforce a state law that requires registrants in that state to post a sign on the front door of their homes on Halloween. This motion was filed in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals after business hours on Friday. According to this motion, the federal district court lacks jurisdiction to issue a statewide Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). The motion then requests the appellate court either to stop the TRO completely…
Read MoreUT: More than 100 convicted sex offenders missing from the registry
Source: youtube.com / KSL 10/26/23 The Utah Department of Corrections is auditing the state’s sex offender registry and hiring additional staff after the KSL Investigators discovered more than 100 convicted sex offenders missing from the registry. Watch the video
Read MoreME: Registrant falsely accused of mass murder because he has the same name
Source: usatoday.com 10/26/23 The claim: Image shows suspect in Maine shooting, previously arrested for child pornography An Oct. 26 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes a photo of a man it claims is the suspect in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead. “Lewiston Maine Mass Shooting Suspect Robert Card Has Been Previously Arrested For Child Pornography & Is A Registered Sex Offender Who CAN NOT LEGALLY POSSESS A FIREARM!” reads part of the post. The post garnered nearly 30 shares and more than 350 comments…
Read MoreGA: If I Join a Church After Prison, How Much of My Past Is Safe to Disclose?
Source: filtermag.org 10/25/23 Last Sunday, I tried to work up the courage to go to church. I did some Googling of the churches sprinkled around the Georgia county where I currently live. There are dozens; I could take my pick. But when I think about meeting a new congregation, I freeze. Do I introduce myself as trans? As someone who just got out of prison? As a registered sex offender? Or do I make up some story that’s easier? In September I was released, after 13 years in Georgia Department…
Read MoreFL: Accused sex offender released back into community after being found incompetent to stand trial
Source: wftv.com 10/23/23 PINE HILLS, Fla. — A community learned on Monday that an accused repeat sex offender will be released back into their community, again. Channel 9 first reported on 56-year-old Joseph ____ since 2020. ____ has recently been found incompetent to stand trial and is not currently facing time for any of his charges. In the courtroom, parents of the alleged victims were livid. They did not want him to be released anywhere near their daughters, who he’s accused of attacking in Pine Hills. Deshawn Browdy spoke in…
Read MoreGA: Want to avoid sex offenders in your neighborhood this Halloween? Read this before trick-or-treating
Source: fox5atlanta.com 10/23/23 There are over 24,500 registered sex offenders in the state of Georgia. Only some of them have to follow a special set of rules on Halloween. Those who are on parole or probation must: Turn off all outside lights Not decorate their home for the holiday, or pass out candy Not answer the door, unless it’s for a law enforcement officer or an emergency responder In the past, the Atlanta Police Department has sent parole officers to visit the homes of sex offenders throughout the night to…
Read MoreMO: Briefs Filed Regarding Request to Stop Missouri’s Halloween Sign Mandate
Source: ACSOL Briefs have been filed by both parties, in support of and in opposition to, a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). If the motion is granted, registrants in Missouri would not be required to post signs on the front door of their homes on Halloween. Plaintiff’s reply brief was filed today as required by the court. That brief focuses on the fact that the sign mandate violates the First Amendment because it is compelled speech, required by the government and objected to by the registrant. The brief…
Read MoreFL: Residents want ‘clustered’ sex offenders out of Tampa neighborhood
Source: fox13news.com 10/20/23 TAMPA, Fla. – After more than two years of delays, Tampa city council members on Thursday finally received a report on the housing of sexual predators who are currently ‘clustered’ in the V.M. Ybor neighborhood. … “Commencing in 2009-2010, multiple properties on Nebraska Avenue underwent rapid transformations, becoming high-density hubs for newly released sex offenders, predators, and felons. This resulted in a concerning surge in V.M. Ybor’s sex offender and predator population. Despite initial opposition, the situation persists, prompting the need for critical intervention. One glaring issue is the Department of Corrections’ ongoing…
Read MoreGA: Do These Sex Offender Employment Restrictions Make Sense to Anyone?
Source: filtermag.org 10/19/23 In the month since I was released from Georgia Department of Corrections custody, I’ve been offered four different jobs. I could have been an account lead at a prominent insurance agency; a receptionist at the same agency, different location; an accountant at another insurance agency; and a paralegal assistant at a law firm. I submitted each offer to my local sheriff’s department, where each was promptly rejected. It appears there are only two available positions in the entire county I’d be allowed to work, one of them…
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