Despite the obvious disconnect between teens’ online behaviors and parents’ knowledge of them, parents continue to exude a sense of confidence and control. Most parents insist they’re in control when it comes to mentoring their teen’s online behaviors. Yet, many teens believe their parents are in the dark. More than three in four parents express confidence they know how to find out what their teen is doing online, and half of parents live under the assumption that their teen tells them everything he/she does online. In reality, over two in…
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NY: Has Westchester’s Sex Offender Registry Done Anything to Make Our Children Safer?
We might feel at ease knowing that, if a sex offender moved into our neighborhood, we’d have to be informed. But does that really protect our children? In Tom Perrotta’s novel, Little Children, a convicted sex offender moves back to the town where he grew up to live with his mother. Isolated and ostracized, he nonetheless ventures to the town swimming pool one steamy summer afternoon to cool off. When the crowd begins to realize he’s snorkeling in the pool, it quickly empties as screaming mothers grab their toddlers and…
Read MoreHUD: Sex Offender Policy Requirements Updated
On June 12, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued Notice H 2012-11 State Registered Lifetime Sex Offenders in Federally Assisted Housing, which reiterates statutory- and regulatory-based responsibilities to prohibit admission to federally assisted housing for individuals subject to a lifetime registration requirement under a state sex offender registration program, and supersedes Notice H 2009-11. The new policies stem, in part, from a 2009 OIG audit, which estimated that 2,094 to 3,046 assisted households included a lifetime registered sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreDear Child Advocate – A Letter
Dear Child Advocate: Mr. Sandusky is not a Monster as the public and media are labeling him! He is a human being who had/has many good qualities and has become a SICK Opportunist who has been allowed to repeat his behavior because of current laws and Society has once again turned their back on a man who needed treatment fourteen years ago. There are Opportunists and there are Predators who sexually abuse children. Congress supplied the weapon to allow Mr. Sandusky (and many others) to commit these crimes; “If you…
Read MoreWA: Seattle attorney wants changes to sex offender registry
A Seattle attorney is asking for a review of Washington’s sex offender registration and notification system following the murders of two sex offenders this week in Clallam County. At least one of the two men killed was a husband and a father. The crime that put him into the state sex offender registry happened ten years ago. He was categorized a level II offender, one being lowest risk, three being the highest. Seattle attorney Brad Meryhew devotes his entire practice to defending accused and convicted sex offenders. He says it’s…
Read MoreLA: Plantations, Prisons and Profits (off topic)
The New York Times: “Louisiana is the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran’s, seven times China’s and 10 times Germany’s.” That paragraph opens a devastating eight-part series published this month by The Times-Picayune of New Orleans about how the state’s largely private prison system profits from high incarceration rates and tough sentencing, and how many with the power to curtail the system actually…
Read MoreWA: Two sex offenders shot dead by Patrick Drum – Wife of one speaks out (Video)
PORT ANGELES, Washington — The wife of a convicted sex offender who was targeted and killed over the weekend said Tuesday she’s sickened by people who have called the man accused in the crime a hero. Gary Blanton was one of two sex offenders shot and killed by Patrick Drum in Clallam County, investigators said. Full Article [hana-flv-player video=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBYsNGrOlwE” width=”360″ description=”” player=”5″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” /] Original Video
Read MoreWA: Suspect in slaying of 2 sex offenders planned more killings, prosecutors say
PORT ANGELES—A prosecutor on Monday requested that Patrick B. Drum, 34, of Sequim, who was arrested Sunday for the slaying of two registered sex offenders, be denied bail bcause Drum allegedly told police he planned to kill another sex offender. A bail hearing is set for Wednesday. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Convicted sex offender fights for rights
OKLAHOMA CITY — Convicted sex offenders are prohibited from using Facebook, Linkedin in and other social media outlets. Law makers say the goal is to deter predators from easily finding new victims but others say it’s unconstitutional. Denishio Cook is a convicted sex offender. That’s not the label this former OSU football player thought he would wear the rest of his life. Instead of the “OS” on his letterman jacket, he’s now bearing the scarlet letters “SO” after pleading guilty to raping a teen more than a decade ago. Full…
Read MoreTX: Life On the List
A single mistake when he was 12 landed Josh Gravens on Texas’ sex offender list. He’s been paying for it ever since. When Josh Gravens was 12 years old, he made a terrible mistake. He and his sister, who was 8, had sexual contact, twice. “Like, where my body part touched her body part,” he says. “It was never penetrative. Obviously, it couldn’t have been what they call consensual, but it was playing.” Josh’s sister told their mother, who was alarmed. She wanted to ensure that, even if Josh’s intentions…
Read MoreIN: Sex offenders fight for right to use Facebook, LinkedIn
INDIANAPOLIS — Registered sex offenders who have been banned from social networking websites are fighting back in the nation’s courts, successfully challenging many of the restrictions as infringements on free speech and their right to participate in common online discussions. The legal battles pit public outrage over sex crimes against cherished guarantees of individual freedom and the far-reaching communication changes brought by Facebook, LinkedIn and dozens of other sites. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Gov. Mary Fallin signs Oklahoma sex offender bill
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Mary Fallin has signed legislation that bans registered sex offenders from living with minor children. Fallin signed the measure into law on Tuesday. Its author, Rep. Mike Sanders, says it will help protect Oklahoma children. Previously, state law didn’t prohibit a sex offender from living with a minor child. Sanders says he was surprised to learn that a sex offender was living with a child in his district. Full Article From HB NO. 3049 – Section 590 B. It shall be unlawful for any person…
Read MoreLA: Man labeled child sexual predator awarded $160,000
A judge has awarded $160,000 to a Bayou Blue man who said he was labeled a child sexual predator via a series of emails and flyers sent out by Houma Police. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Registered sex offender wins election in small Texas town
The controversy surrounding city elections in a town in the Texas Panhandle continues. That’s because one of the newly elected city council members has a checkered past. A pair of two-year terms on Skellytown’s city council were up for grabs Saturday. The results are in now and not everyone is happy. That’s because one of those spots is now being filled by a man who is a former mayor forced to resign. He is also a registered sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Charges Dropped Against Man Who Served 20 Years for Rape
Lake County prosecutors on Tuesday dropped sexual assault charges against a man accused in a decades-old Waukegan rape. “I’m feeling great,” said Bennie Starks. “The fight is not over yet. We still have one more hurdle, but it’s a great day.” Starks, convicted in 1986 of assaulting a 68-year-old woman, had served 20 years of a 60-year sentence when DNA evidence was retrieved that excluded him from the crime. Full Article
Read MoreMissouri House passes sex offender bill
JEFFERSON CITY • The Missouri House is sending a bill to the Senate that could drastically cut back the state’s sex offender registry rolls. After giving initial approval Tuesday night, the chamber took a second vote on the issue Thursday, advancing it to the other chamber. House Bill 1700 received near unanimous and overwhelmingly bi-partisan support in the Republican-controlled House. Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/political-fix/missouri-house-passes-sex-offender-bill/article_4353f458-789d-11e1-a594-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1v6k7D0Hk
Read MoreLet Them Live With the Other Large Reptiles: The Failure of Residency Restrictions
America has a lot of harsh laws against sex offenders that shame and banish this unpopular group. Miami sends them to live in the swamps with the poisonous snakes and boa constrictors. Georgia bars them from living or working within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop. Pretty much the whole state is off limits for employment or domicile. California bans them from living in just about any of the cities. Those laws are under serious legal challenge, and the Georgia bus stop code is on hold pending the outcome…
Read MoreMothers of sex offenders share responsibility, burden of label
(CNN) — Christine Smith will never forget the moment she watched her 21-year-old son being led out of a Florida courtroom in handcuffs. “This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening,” she recalls thinking at the time. “Take me instead.” She sobbed because there was nothing she could do. Matthew, the second of her three children, was going to prison after pleading guilty to 10 counts of possession of child pornography. A judge in Duval County sentenced him in April 2010 to 18 months in state…
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