Category: National

Warner Music bashed for signing record deal with ‘creepy’ AI pop star with the body of a ‘12 year old’

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Source: nypost.com 9/8/23 Warner Music faced backlash over sexualizing its newest artist — a “creepy” artificial intelligence-generated pop star named Noonoouri who wants “to make a 12 year old look sexy.” The record label made history by signing the first AI musician and released a debuting single, “Dominoes,” on Sept. 1 — accompanied by a nearly 3-minute music video of the blue-haired Noonoouri prancing in a bikini from Kim Kardashians Skims collection. The virtual influencer was created in 2018 by 43-year-old German graphic designer Joerg Zuber, who conceived Noonoouri as…

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ID: State ordered to pay more than $319,000 to wrongfully incarcerated Idaho man forced to register

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Source: idahocapitalsun.com 9/8/23 The state of Idaho must pay more than $319,000 to an innocent man who was wrongfully incarcerated for five years and nine months. The funding is made possible through the Wrongful Conviction Act, which the Legislature passed in 2021. Compensation only goes to people who were incarcerated and later are found factually innocent. Joseph LaCroix was wrongfully convicted on Oct. 3, 2017, in Bonneville County of failing to register as a sex offender, a felony crime. On March 8, the District Court found that LaCroix was innocent,…

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TX: Judicial Clemency Does Not Forgive Sex Offender Registration

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Source: thecrimereport.org 9/7/23 In a 6-3 decision Ex parte Danny Richard Lane, the state’s highest criminal appeals court ruled that Texas’ historical doctrine of “judicial clemency” does not forgive sex offender registration.  The Texas Legislature in 1965 created this doctrine which gives a trial court the authority to, after a defendant has successfully completed the terms of probation, “set aside the verdict or permit the defendant to withdraw his plea, and shall dismiss the accusation, complaint, information or indictment against such defendant, who shall thereafter be released from all penalties…

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VT: Remorseless murderer killed former registrant and mom as a jail retirement plan

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Source: berkshireeagle.com 9/7/23 BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — A man accused of killing a 79-year-old Whitingham, Vt., woman and her 52-year-old son by shooting them in their home on Route 8A is being held without bail. Christopher D. Ellis, 54, pleaded not guilty through his attorney Wednesday to two counts of first-degree murder and an additional charge of operating a vehicle without the owner’s consent. He was arraigned in Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division. Judge John Treadwell ordered Ellis held without bail. Treadwell said the court would not schedule a weight of…

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IL: ‘I Call It Pretend Freedom’: Older Adults Coming Out of Illinois Prisons Face Steep Roadblocks in Their Reentry Journey

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Source: goodmenproject.com 9/7/23 At least 17,000 adults age 50 and older have been released from Illinois prisons since 2014, and thousands more are in line to come out soon. Older adults are less likely to reoffend than their younger counterparts but face more hurdles to successful reentry. Before he was released from prison, Bob Covelli told everyone he knew the three things he wanted most once he got out: a job, an apartment, and a kitten. “I’m less anxious, and I’m less angry when I hear a cat purring,” he…

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VA: Wrongfully convicted man says “Being on the registry itself has been a death sentence” and wants more restitution money

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Source: wsls.com 9/6/23 MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – David Kingrea lives in rural Montgomery County with his wife, Michelle, and their son, Dylan. David’s life hasn’t always been that simple. In 2011, his life was flipped upside down when his ex-girlfriend’s son accused David of sexually abusing him. “We had a very bad relationship to say, but nevertheless I never would have thought that this would even never come up,” said David. From the day David was arrested for the alleged crimes, he maintained his innocence. “It was their word versus…

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AZ: Calls for vice mayor’s resignation for allowing a registered sex offender to stay at her house

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Source: azcentral.com 9/5/23 A crowded and contentious meeting is expected at Peoria City Hall Tuesday night as residents plan to weigh in on Mayor Jason Beck and the City Council’s request for Vice Mayor Denette Dunn to resign. Dunn was asked to resign after the Peoria Police Department released a report last week that showed a longtime friend of hers, who is a registered sex offender, had intermittently stayed at her house the past year, potentially in violation of state law. The police alleged the man should have registered Dunn’s…

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Supreme Court asked to decide the limits of violations of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on “unreasonable searches”

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Source: usatoday.com 9/5/23 The problem for Nero the police dog began when he put his paws on the door of a car that had been pulled over after the driver swerved across three lanes.  By all accounts, the Belgian Malinois did his job, sniffing out a pill bottle and a plastic bag that contained meth residue – evidence that ultimately allowed police in Idaho to get a warrant and charge the driver, Kirby Dorff, with felony drug possession. But the paws Nero placed on the driver side door as he…

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TX: Court Blocks Texas Law Aimed at Protecting Children From Online Porn

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Source: theepochtimes.com 9/3/23 A federal judge in Texas has blocked a state law seeking to impose age requirements on adult websites, claiming the bill violates the First Amendment and is a threat to privacy. Texas’ HB 1181 (pdf) requires adult sites to verify the age of visitors to ensure they are 18 years of age or older. It was signed by Republican Governor Greg Abbott on June 12 and was set to come into effect on Sept. 1. On Aug. 4, a lawsuit (pdf) was filed against the legislation, arguing that…

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NC: Nash County father goes to police for help, then they charged his 10-year-old daughter for having nude photos of herself on phone

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Source: wral.com 9/2/23 A Rocky Mount man told WRAL News his 10-year-old daughter was charged with a felony for having nude pictures of herself on her cellphone. The county’s district attorney said it’s a charge he’s never seen brought against a child before. The father said he now has concerns about how the charge will impact his daughter’s future. The father said his now 11-year-old daughter is a normal kid who likes basketball, drawing and spending time with family. Read the full article  

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IA: Nowhere to go for CCUSO patients

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Source: chronicletimes.com 8/31/23 Officials with the Iowa Department of Correctional Services have expressed concern over a disproportionate share of sex offenders from the Civil Commitment Unit for Sex Offenders being discharged in Cherokee and surrounding counties. Maureen Hansen, director of the DOCS’s third judicial district, told the Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors last month a “concerning development” is CCUSO patient discharges to the area “where they otherwise wouldn’t be connected.” Hansen acknowledged to the supervisors some of the patients that have either been discharged or nearing discharge from the…

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OH: Sex Offender’s Out-of-State Registration Counts Toward Ohio Sex Offense Reporting Requirement

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Source: courtnewsohio.gov 8/31/23 A man convicted under an Ohio sex offender reporting law completed his 10-year registration requirements while living in Kentucky and did not have to start the reporting period over when he moved to Ohio, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office contention that Michael Schilling’s Ohio sex offender reporting obligation paused while he was living and registering as a sex offender in Kentucky and then resumed when he moved back to Ohio in 2020.…

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OH: From ankle strap to wristband: Warren County pilots ‘smartwatch’ electronic monitoring devices

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Source: wcpo.com 8/23/23 LEBANON, Ohio — Warren County’s judicial system is among the first in the country to pilot a new device that encompasses all the functionality of an ankle monitor in the compatibility of a smartwatch device. The technology, called the VeriWatch, is relatively new but that didn’t give Mike Steele pause. Associate director of electronic monitoring for the Warren County Court of Common Pleas adult probation department, Steele said his team has partnered with Business Intelligence Inc. for roughly 15 years. Whenever they launch new technology, like this…

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SC: Deputies warn of arrest warrant-issued scam targeting residents on sex offender registry

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Source: foxcarolina.com 8/25/23 ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – The Anderson County Sheriff’s said deputies are investigating a scam targeting residents on the sex offender registry. Deputies said the scammers are calling victims, telling them they have not appeared in court and there is an active warrant for their arrest because they are violating their sex offender registry. According to deputies, the scammers then text the victims a copy of a fake arrest warrant and tell them to get a gift card to pay a fine to clear up the…

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USSC Votes to Allow Retroactive Sentence Reductions and Announces Its Next Set of Policy Priorities

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Source: ussc.gov via govdelivery.com 8/24/23  Vote Authorizes Judges to Reduce Sentences for Eligible Incarcerated Persons Beginning February 1, 2024 Should Guidelines Become Effective WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 24, 2023) — Today the Commission, by a majority vote, allowed for delayed retroactive application of Amendment 821 relating to criminal history—meaning that certain currently incarcerated individuals could be eligible for reduced sentences made effective beginning on February 1, 2024 (unofficial text).  The Commission also adopted its next set of policy priorities that include, among other things, reviewing and potentially amending how the guidelines treat acquitted…

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CO: Sex offender registry meant to inform public, not target offenders, officials say

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Source: durangoherald.com 8/24/23 ‘When we make them a pariah, we drive them underground,’ says district attorney A Durango man accused of breaking into another man’s house in the middle of the night and attempting to fatally shoot him may have been carrying out an act of vigilantism directed toward a registered sex offender, according to the victim and an arrest affidavit. Several details of the Aug. 9 shooting remain unknown or have not yet been made public by law enforcement. For example, it is unknown if the suspect, Troy Allen…

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GA: Georgia sheriff pleads guilty to groping TV Judge Hatchett

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Source: yahoo.com 8/21/23 A Georgia sheriff pleaded guilty Monday to groping TV Judge Glenda Hatchett, who recalled being so stunned that she froze when the lawman grabbed and squeezed her breast at a hotel bar last year during a law enforcement conference. Bleckley County Sheriff Kristopher Coody pleaded guilty in Cobb County State Court to a misdemeanor charge of sexual battery and was sentenced to a year on probation, news outlets reported. He also resigned from the office he had held since 2017. “He so violated me, and at that…

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UPDATED 8/21/23: Corrections to the Paris, Wisconsin 6,500 Feet Residency Restriction by the 7th Circuit

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UPDATED Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 8/21/23 Attorneys with the Paris case (6500-foot residence restriction) have contacted us [Florida Action Committee] to correct misstatements that were made in our most recent post.  They let us know there is much to be optimistic about in the court’s decision as they are putting some brakes on municipal ordinances that have spiraled out of control in Wisconsin – something they have never done before. We should not be reading this decision as countenancing 6500-foot zones more generally.  Attorney Adele Nicholas will be continuing to fight these…

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