Category: National

WA: State panel in damage control after confusion about eliminating sex offender notifications

R H

Source: komonews.com 10/2/23 KING COUNTY, Wash. — A state advisory panel is doing damage control after recommendations regarding sex offenders stirred outrage in the community. The recommendations are for community notifications to be eliminated when convicted sex offenders are released from prison and return to society.  … The MPC has found that community notification actually undermines public safety. It also recommends that sex offender registries should be reserved for law enforcement and not be made available to the public. The reasoning is that the attention notifications and registries bring can…

Read More

MT: Montana decision that Sexual or Violent Offender Registration Act (SVORA) is punitive and cannot be applied retroactively

R H

Source: law.justia.com 6/14/23 The THE STATE OF MONTANA Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court denying Defendant’s motion to dismiss the State’s felony charge against him for failure to register as a sexual offender, holding that the Sexual or Violent Offender Registration Act (SVORA), as amended since 2007, was punitive in nature. Defendant was convicted of sexual assault in 1994 and served and discharged his sentence. At the time, SVORA, known then as Montana’s Sexual offender Registration Act, required Defendant to maintain registration for ten years. When the legislature amended…

Read More

MI: Police arrest 2 men in killing of Pontiac man known for fooling sexual predators Kylie Martin Detroit Free Press

R H

Source: freep.com 9/30/23 Police have arrested two men in the Friday killing of a 40-year-old Pontiac man who often posed as a minor on social media in attempts to catch sexual predators. Robert Wayne Lee, who ran a popular Facebook page with 11,000 followers using the moniker “Boopac Shakur,” confronted two males, ages 17 and 18, seated in a Pontiac restaurant near the corner of North Perry and MLK Boulevard about 10:30 p.m. Friday, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s office. Lee accused one of the men of being a…

Read More

WA: Washington panel considers outlawing community notification of sex offenders

R H

Source: thecentersquare.com 9/28/23 (The Center Square) – Earlier this year, a decision to house convicted sex offenders in cities such as Enumclaw without notifying the community drew outrage from local residents. Now, the State Sex Offender Policy Board is considering recommendations to the Legislature that could include making it illegal to notify communities when a sex offender moves into the area on the grounds that such policies undermine public safety. Created in 2008, the Sex Offender Policy Board is composed of 13 members appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee. Its role…

Read More

FL: Death penalty in child rapes among new Florida laws soon to take effect

R H

Source: orlandosentinel.com 9/26/23 A new law that could lead to imposing the death penalty on people who rape children under age 12 will take effect Sunday, along with other laws passed during the 2023 legislative session. Other measures taking effect could lead to putting local governments on the hook for attorney fees when ordinances are deemed “arbitrary or unreasonable;” increase penalties on fans who interfere with sporting events; and require teens to at least have learner’s permits to drive golf carts on public roads. The laws passed during the legislative…

Read More

SCOTUS: Florida man subject to lifetime sex-offender registration requirements argues that he is “in custody” for purposes of federal post-conviction laws

webmaster

By Kalvis Golde The Petitions of the Week column highlights a selection of cert petitions recently filed in the Supreme Court. A list of all petitions we’re watching is available here.   A person held in state prison can challenge the constitutionality of their criminal conviction in federal court through a legal tool known as a writ of habeas corpus. Habeas relief is available to anyone “in custody,” which the Supreme Court has interpreted to mean not only physical confinement but also other restrictions such as parole and release pending trial. This week, we…

Read More

VA: Parents demand removal of Chesapeake PTA president, citing sex-offender spouse

R H

Source: 13newsnow.com 9/20/23 CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Concerned parents in Chesapeake are sounding the alarm about a registered sex offender they say is married to a local PTA president and has attended at least one school-related event. In an email sent to 13News Now and an online petition signed by more than 200 people, parents of students at Greenbrier primary and intermediate schools are lobbying for the removal of their Parent Teacher Association president. The petition, which was created on Change.org September 12, alleges the PTA president is married to a…

Read More

ID: Predictable hysteria when three registered sex offenders are given permission to drop off and pick up their own children

R H

Source: magicvalley.com 9/19/23 The Cassia County School District amended a 15-year-old board policy over the summer to create a ‘community’ committee with an eye on opening its governing process to parents, among others. It didn’t last the summer, and here’s why. The Cassia County School District, following a 15-year-old board policy and Idaho Code, voted last month to approve applications from three registered sex offenders who requested permission to drop off and pick up their own children, and attend academic conferences and extracurricular activities involving their own children. It’s a…

Read More

FL: City voted to prevent any sex offender prospectively from living in the City of Crestview

R H

Source: Florida Action Committee 9/17 23 City voted to prevent any sex offender prospectively from living in the City of Crestview. This was done via a 1500 feet ordinance. The comment from city council member Ryan Bullard is one of the most ignorant and shocking comments we’ve ever heard in a public meeting. Watch the video    

Read More

PA: Testimony on House Hearing on HB 77: Megan’s Law Residence Restrictions

R H

Source: aclupa.org 9/12/23 Session: 2023-2024 Hearing: House Judiciary Committee | Hearing on HB 77: Megan’s Law residence restrictions September 12, 2023 | 1:00 p.m. Veronica Miller, Senior Policy Counsel for Criminal Legal Reform, testified on behalf of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. To watch the hearing or read testimonies of all participants, click here. Bill summary: House Bill 77 would prohibit an individual classified as a sexually violent predator (SVP) from residing within 2,500 feet of a public school, private school, parochial school or daycare center for the duration of their required registration period.…

Read More

CT: Connecticut disclosure rules for sex offenders deemed unconstitutional

R H

Source: courthousenews.com 9/14/23 But the ruling only applies to the man who brought the case, since he did not file a class action. (CN) — Although he declined to grant class-wide relief, a federal judge determined Thursday that disclosure of online aliases chilled sex offenders’ ability to communicate freely, and also pointed out Connecticut has yet to use the law to prevent or detect any criminal activity. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer, a Barack Obama appointee, acknowledged at the outset of his opinion that Connecticut General Statutes 54-251(a) and 54-253(b)…

Read More

PA: Efficacy of sex offender residency rules questioned in Pa. House hearing

R H

Source: pennlive.com 9/12/23 A bill that would restrict where certain sex offenders could live in Pennsylvania got a skeptical reception at a House hearing on Tuesday, with discussion centering around whether such measures actually increase public safety. The House Judiciary Committee held an informational session Tuesday on House Bill 77, which would require that anyone who has been adjudicated as a “sexually violent predator” under Pennsylvania’s sex crimes law could not live within 2,500 feet of a school or child care center. Although judges can impose residency restrictions on a…

Read More

OK: Henryetta families advocate for life sentences for child sex crimes

R H

Source: news9.com 9/11/23 The families of two of the girls murdered in Henryetta want stricter laws for convicted sex offenders. The families are calling it “Knight’s Law”- after Henryetta’s school mascot. There are 13 laws they would like to see passed as part of their “Knight’s Law” push. The main one is anyone convicted of a sex crime against a child would be sentenced to life in prison without parole. … If passed, these laws would mean more jail time for anyone convicted of sex crimes against children, notify people…

Read More

FAC and MCARE present to UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva Switzerland

R H

Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 9/11/23 Dear Members and Advocates [of Florida Action Committee] , In September 2022, our Florida Action Committee president, Gail Colletta, filed a Complaint with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva Switzerland, entitled “PETITION TO THE UNITED NATIONS TO INVESTIGATE THE UNITED STATES’ SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY AS A VIOLATION OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.“. … Specifically, for FAC, Gail Colletta will be addressing 1) the need to remove residency restrictions, 2) the UN Complaint filed last year, and 3) an update on the change.org petition…

Read More

TX: FBI sting for an ‘experienced sadist’ who would be paid $6,000 to ‘break’ a young woman

R H

Source: dailymail.co.uk 9/11/23 The California sommelier found guilty of flying to Texas to ‘break’ a young woman for sex work was living with a married couple and engaged in a three-way relationship where he’d openly sleep with and torment the man’s wife, sources tell DailyMail.com. The 37-year-old married mother Ian Justin Ranney, 35, had been living with was too traumatized to discuss her own relationship with the now-convicted felon. ‘I have a family and I’m not interested in dredging anything more up,’ she told DailyMail.com. DailyMail.com can also reveal that Ranney,…

Read More

CT: ‘Just existing, not living’: CT residents retroactively added to sex offense registry seek reprieve

R H

Source: ctmirror.org 9/10/23 Twenty-five years after Connecticut required them to register as “sex offenders” ex post facto, they hope the legislature will soon take action. During counseling programs he’s attended throughout adulthood, Aaron Kearney has been told not to let mistakes define him and not to let the past hijack his future. But for a quarter-century, the 52-year-old has worn a label making it burdensome to live up to those ideals: “registered sex offender.”  “The only thing I feel is that I’m just existing. I’m not living,” said Kearney, on…

Read More

CO: Musician who called out alleged sexual predators online for years pleads guilty to attempted sexual assault on a minor

R H

Source: westword.com 9/6/23 Ross _______, a political activist and onetime prominent member of the local punk music scene, has spent years using the internet to call out alleged perpetrators of sexual assault — and anyone who associates with them. But this summer, _______ himself was convicted of attempted sexual assault on a minor, and a condition of his probation sentence had him kicked off the internet. … On September 23, 2022, _______ began sending messages to a person he thought was a fourteen-year-old girl named _______, according to a Jefferson…

Read More

MI: Macomb County prosecutor appeals sex assault case to U.S. Supreme Court

R H

Source: detroitnews.com 9/8/34 The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office is appealing a case to the U.S. Supreme Court after a new trial was awarding to a man previously convicted of sexual assault. The Michigan Supreme Court found the Macomb County Circuit Court violated Anthony ____’s Constitutional rights during his jury trial for sexual assault when the judge closed the courtroom during the child victim’s testimony without putting specific reasons for the closure on the record. The court sent the case back to Macomb County for a new trial for ____. Lucido…

Read More