Source: captimes.com 7/3/23 Benjamin Braam has already decided a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling means he can stop recharging an electronic tracking bracelet the state forced him to wear for the rest of his life. The high court’s decision involved a case unrelated to Braam, but it shot down the rationale that former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel used to justify the lifetime monitoring of one-time sexual offenders even after they completed their sentences and were no longer under court-ordered supervision. Authorities from the state Department of Corrections “called me…
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Action Alert for MA: Call/Write to stop H 1342 from ban of registrants from state-subsidized public housing
Source: lowellsun.com 7/3/23 H 1342: – The Housing Committee held a hearing on legislation that would prohibit Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders from being placed in public housing in Massachusetts. The bill is similar to a 1998 federal law that bans some sex offenders from federally subsidized housing. “[The bill] is common-sense legislation that would extend the same protections that are currently in place for residents of federally-subsidized public housing to tenants living in state-subsidized public housing,” said sponsor Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading).” Read the full article…
Read MoreKey document may be fake in LGBTQ+ rights case before US supreme court
Source: theguardian.com 6/29/23 Christian website designer says she received email request from same-sex couple but ‘author’ says he did not send it – and is not gay The veracity of a key document in a major LGBTQ+ rights case before the US supreme court has come under question, raising the possibility that important evidence cited in it might be wrong or even falsified. The supreme court is expected to issue a ruling on Friday in 303 Creative LLC v Elenis, which deals with a challenge to a Colorado law prohibiting…
Read MoreMA: Ex-Roman Catholic cardinal, now 92, is not competent to stand trial in sex abuse case, expert says
Source: news.yahoo.com 6/29/23 BOSTON (AP) — Former Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial on charges accusing him of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Massachusetts decades ago, an expert for the prosecution says, raising doubts about the future of the criminal case against the 92-year-old. Prosecutors this week disclosed the findings of their expert to the judge, who will ultimately rule on the once-powerful American prelate’s ability to face charges that he abused the boy at a wedding reception at Wellesley College in 1974. McCarrick…
Read MoreACSOL Nationwide Action Alert: Oppose a 1,500 foot Residency Restriction in a Florida County
Source: Florida Action Committee Let’s all support Florida registrants in Volusia County by opposing a terrible ordinance that would make it very difficult to find a place to live! All registrants in all states should email, call, or send letters through the U.S. Mail to the Volusia County Council members to let them know that you OPPOSE the expansion of the residency restriction requirement to 1,500 feet in the unincorporated areas of the county for people required to register as a predator. Click here to read the details
Read MoreIN: Indiana man can’t be removed from sex offender registry for Kentucky offense, COA affirms
Source: theindianalawyer.com 6/27/23 A man convicted of a sex crime against a minor 15 years ago in Kentucky must remain on Indiana’s sex offender registry, the Court of Appeals of Indiana affirmed Tuesday. In 2008, Kevin ____ was convicted in Kentucky of sexual abuse in the second degree. ____ received a one-year executed sentence with five months suspended to probation. Under Kentucky law, a defendant convicted of that crime is required to register. Although the Kentucky court ordered ____ to register as a sex offender for 20 years, he never…
Read MoreTX: Anti-Sex Offender Registry Group Holds National Conference in Houston
Source: thetexan.news 6/26/23 Welcome letters from the mayor’s office praised the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws for efforts on behalf of “marginalized citizens.” An organization advocating on behalf of accused sex offenders held its national conference in Houston last weekend to teach attendees how to lobby for criminal justice reforms, including the dismantling of sexual offender registries (SOR). The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) argues that SORs are overbroad and unconstitutional. Formerly known as “Reform Sex Offender Laws,” the group was co-founded by an LGBT…
Read MoreFL: Sextortion crimes continue to rise across Tampa Bay area
Source: news.yahoo.com/WFTS-Tampa 6/26/23 Sextortion crimes continue to rise across the Tampa Bay area. A St. Pete detective said it’s one of his top priorities to catch these suspects. Sextortion is when a suspect convinces a person to send inappropriate photos and then threatens to release those photos unless the victim sends money. It’s a crime targeting both children and adults in our area. Read the full article Related: St. Pete PD say sexting extortion cases more than doubled in 2023, with young people the primary targets [baynews9.com 6/6/23] Documentary…
Read MoreNY: Court of Appeals orders new risk level classification hearing for registered sex offender
Source: nydailyrecord.com 6/23/23 New York state’s highest court has ordered a new hearing to determine the risk level classification for a registered sex offender. The Court of Appeals ruled that the Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA) court deprived defendant Michael Worley of due process rights by changing his risk level assessment without giving him an opportunity to contest the determination. … At the SORA hearing, the prosecutor acknowledged that Worley was incorrectly penalized for refusing to attend sex offender treatment. In fact, he was never able to attend because his…
Read MoreSC: Sex crime suspect can’t face criminal trial but can be confined, SC high court rules
Source: postandcourier.com 6/22/23 COLUMBIA — He was not convicted of the sexual crimes South Carolina accused him in 2005 of committing. After years of forced psychological hospitalization, the doctors at the state Department of Mental Health recommended he be transferred to a residential care facility, as he was treated for schizophrenia and schizotypal personality traits. But South Carolina’s High Court ruled June 21 that it’s constitutional for the state’s top lawyer to seek to keep Francis ____ confined anyway. In a case originating out of Lexington County, the state Supreme Court…
Read MoreCO: Colorado Supreme Court strikes down law allowing child sex abuse lawsuits from decades past
Source: cpr.org 6/20/23 Childhood sexual abuse victims in Colorado will no longer be able to file lawsuits over abuse that happened decades ago, as the state Supreme Court struck down a law Tuesday that gave victims a three-year window to sue over abuses as far back as the 1960s. The court cited the state Constitution’s ban on legislation that retroactively applies to conduct prior to its passage. Colorado’s Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act, passed in 2021, was partly intended to allow child victims to bypass the statute of limitations and seek…
Read MoreHome Facts Website Removes Registrants Upon Request
The Home Facts website is removing from its websites the profiles of registrants upon request provided that the registrant is no longer required to register. The website recently removed 25 individuals formerly required to register in California after their attorney requested removal in a letter sent to the law firm that represents them. The name of the law firm is Lowthrop, Richards, McMillan & Templeman and the law firm address is 300 E. Esplanade Drive, Oxnard, CA 93036. “It is helpful to send the law firm a copy of the…
Read MoreUT: Utah considers making phone numbers, email addresses searchable in sex offender registry
Source: msn.com 6/16/23 Changes could be happening to the Utah Sex Offender Registry. Lawmakers and the Utah Attorney General’s Office are planning to add more “searchable” details available to the public, but some victims’ advocates said crucial information will be left off, in certain cases. According to state law, people on the sex offender registry are required to provide information to law enforcement, like their names and aliases, their general description, a DNA sample and their work information. Currently, not all that information is searchable to the general public, like…
Read MoreMT: Montana Supreme Court rules in Sexual and Violent Offender Registration Act case
Source: kpax.com 6/15/23 HELENA – A Montana Supreme Court ruling deemed legislative amendments to the 2007 Sexual and Violent Offender Registration Act punitive in nature and in violation of the ex post facto clause of the constitution if applied retroactively to offenses that happened before the amendments. According to a summary of the case of Montana v. Hinman, the ruling “held that numerous legislative amendments to the Act added restraints on registrants that significantly hinder their liberty and privacy.” Read the full article
Read MoreFL: Florida Capital-Punishment Bill Regarding Sexual Offenses Sparks Controversy
Source: discover.hubpages.com 6/4/23 1. Introduction When I moved from New York to California so many years ago, what really bewildered me was when I discovered that under their statutory-age-of-consent laws at the time, a 14-year-old boy could have been charged with statutory rape for having consensual relations with a 17-year-old girl. I had never heard of such a thing. I had thought that in those kinds of criminal cases, the perpetrator was always supposed to be older than the victim. In a situation wherein a boy that young had been…
Read MoreAn anti-porn app put him in jail and his family under surveillance
Source: arstechnica.com 6/13/23 On a Wednesday morning in May, Hannah got a call from her lawyer—there was a warrant out for her husband’s arrest. Her thoughts went straight to her kids. They were going to come home from school and their father would be gone. “It burned me,” Hannah says, her voice breaking. “He hasn’t done anything to get his bond revoked, and they couldn’t prove he had.” Hannah’s husband is now awaiting trial in jail, in part because of an anti-pornography app called Covenant Eyes. The company explicitly says…
Read MoreFL: Homeless, delusional defendant sent to prison for life shown mercy by Miami judge
Source: aol.com 6/12/23 Jared Stephens, a homeless and mentally ill man who committed an inexplicable crime, shouldn’t spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge ruled Monday. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge William Altfield undid a sentence handed down five years earlier by a different judge, who sentenced Stephens to a minimum of 150 years — with 120 days in jail for good measure. Stephens’ delusional behavior, before and during his trial, had stymied his defense. Read the full article
Read MoreTX: Texas police arrest 11 suspects who allegedly tried to have sex with minors
Source: wfin.com 4/12/23 Texas authorities arrested eleven suspects who allegedly tried to have sex with minors last week. Fort Worth Police Department announced the sting operation and released mugshots on Friday. With cooperation of other agencies, they were able to make the arrests within three days. … “This release is intended to inform the public of the number of individuals arrested for attempting to solicit underage children online and the consequences that go with these actions,” the Fort Worth Police Department said. Read the full article
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