Category: National

An autistic man was surfing the internet on his dad’s sofa. Then the FBI turned up

R H

Source: economist.com 11/21/22 If you read Brandon Fleury a story when he was three, he’d recite it back to you word for word. His father Patrick, then a professional tennis coach, was both bemused and impressed by his physically awkward son. He would tell people about Brandon’s capacity for mimicry – eventually he found himself explaining it to a jury. Brandon had a tough childhood. One night when he was five and lying in bed with his mother, she had a pulmonary embolism and died. Fleury became a full-time single…

Read More

How Does Megan’s Law Impact Real Estate Disclosure?

R H

Source: rismedia.com 12/22/22 Whether you are buying or selling a home, Megan’s Law could affect whether the real estate transaction proceeds. If you have a family, you want to ensure they will be safe in their new home. When asked, “Are there any sexual offenders near me?” Megan’s Law helps you find out. We will examine this law and how it can affect real estate disclosures. What is Megan’s Law? Megan’s Law requires sex offenders to have their names in a register, and sometimes they also need to notify law…

Read More

GOP Congressmembers who are very concerned about grooming vote against child sex abuse bill

R H

Source: msn.com 12/22/22 Numerous Republican Congressmembers who have accused LGBTQ+ people of sexualizing children just voted against a bill that would help the actual victims of child sex abuse. Many of these 28 Republicans have been using “grooming” to score political points. They weren’t willing to vote for a real bill to fight child sex abuse. The bill, entitled Respect for Child Survivors Act, was developed with input from child welfare groups to address the mistreatment that child witnesses sometimes face during investigations of their own abuse.  The bill requires…

Read More

Meta cracks down on teen “sextortion” on Facebook, Instagram

R H

Source: arstechnica.com 11/21/22 Teens will finally have a way to proactively stop the spread of intimate images. Last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) released data showing that it received overwhelmingly more reports of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) from Facebook than any other web service it tracked. Where other popular social platforms like Twitter and TikTok had tens of thousands of reports, Facebook had 22 million. Today, Facebook announced new efforts to limit the spread of some of that CSAM on its platforms. Partnering with…

Read More

FBI finds sharp rise in online extortion of teens tricked into sending sexually explicit photos

R H

Source: pbs.org 12/19/22 WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI sounded the alarm Monday about an explosive increase in teenage boys being targeted online and extorted for money after being tricked into sending sexually explicit pictures. At least 3,000 children, mostly teenage boys, have been victims of the schemes that are connected to more than a dozen suicides this year, a scale that U.S. authorities have not seen before, Justice Department officials said. Many think they are chatting online with kids around their own age but are quickly manipulated into sending explicit…

Read More

NE: Dodge County sex offenders face challenges in registering

R H

Source: fremonttribune.com 12/20/22 Convicted sex offenders in Fremont and Dodge County are required to register with law enforcement when they move, attend a new school or take a new job, however a recent incident at the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office highlighted the difficulties offenders face in complying with the law. A local convicted sex offender — Ronald Eugene ____ Jr., 38, of Fremont — contacted the Fremont Tribune after his repeated efforts to comply with Nebraska’s sex offender registration requirements under his sentencing were unsuccessful. ____ Jr. said he twice…

Read More

Federally funded police task forces carry out thousands of online stings each year, despite little evidence that they prevent abuse

R H

Source: theappeal.org 12/19/22 On July 8, 2018, Norman Achin, then a 50 year-old public school teacher living in Northern Virginia, signed up for the adults-only dating app Grindr. Two days later, he was contacted by someone calling himself AlexVA. Soon after they started talking, AlexVA told Achin that he was 14 years old. “I was looking for adult fun. Did not expect to run into your age,” Achin responded through the app on July 12. “Not interested in that kind of relationship with a boy.” The next day, he reported…

Read More

OH: Sex offender, homicide suspect killing in Columbus sees no charges for SWAT deputies

R H

Source: nbc4i.com 12/16/22 COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The officers involved in the fatal shooting of a double homicide suspect in northeast Columbus will not be indicted, the county prosecutor said Thursday. A grand jury voted against prosecuting two Franklin County Sheriff’s Office SWAT deputies, according to the office of Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Gary Tyack. The pair were attempting on June 7 to serve an arrest warrant on 20-year-old Pozz Striblin. At around 7 p.m. that evening, the two SWAT deputies went to a Sunoco gas station at Stelzer and…

Read More

PA: Scranton ordinance on where registered sex offenders can live remains contrary to court decision

R H

Source: wfmz.com 12/17/22 SCRANTON — At 17, Zachary Pluko saw his future in the military or law enforcement. At 29, the vision is a memory. Pluko works at a Turkey Hill store to cover the monthly $600 rent he pays for a room on Moir Court. He and six other residents of 839-841 Moir Court mostly keep to themselves but they all share something in common: they’re registered sex offenders. Their residence, about 940 feet from a school, is contrary to an unenforced Scranton ordinance that remains part of the…

Read More

OR: Thousands of Oregon sex offenders still waiting for risk evaluation

R H

Source: koin.com 12/15/22 There are 32,472 convicted sex offenders in Oregon. About 100 more sex offenders are added every month. Now, even after 7 years of work, the Oregon Parole Board has more than 20,000 sex offenders that remain unclassified at risk levels. The parole board simply can’t keep up with the thousands of sex offenders who need to be classified as low, moderate or high risk. … “At our current staffing levels you would see we would finish in approximatley 43-and-a-half years,” Oregon Parole Board Executive Director Dylan Arthur…

Read More

Opinion: Sexual assault allegations should always be taken seriously, but don’t rush to judgment

R H

Source: sandiegouniontribune.com 12/15/22 In former SDSU football player Matt Araiza’s case, too many people seemed to automatically believe his accuser from the very beginning. The harsh reality of being a suspect in a criminal case, especially in a case where the potential penalties include spending multiple years in prison and having to register as a sex offender for life, weighs differently on different types of people. For Matt Araiza, it weighed especially heavy. In a very short span of time, he went from winning college football’s highest award for a…

Read More

VA: ‘Enough is enough’: Rock Church pastor previously accused in prostitution case speaks out

R H

Source: wric.com 12/6/22 A Virginia Beach pastor previously accused of soliciting sex from a minor says “enough is enough.” During a recent service, Rev. John Blanchard returned to the pulpit to address his congregation. Blanchard was among 17 men accused of solicitation of prostitution after an online sting operation by law enforcement. Blanchard was the senior pastor at Rock Church International in Virginia Beach at the time of his arrest. The Chesterfield County Police Special Victims Unit said the suspects believed they were soliciting sex from minors through online and…

Read More

UT: Utah woman says justice system failed to protect her from an accused serial predator

R H

Source: ksltv.com 12/13/22 Vanessa Clark is in disbelief. “I can’t believe that he was able to do what he did,” she told the KSL Investigators. On Nov. 7, Clark reported to law enforcement that she was raped by Joshua Homer, 26, after he invited her over to his home in Vineyard. Clark said the two initially connected through an online dating app and were meeting up for the first time. “It’s something that lives with you every single day now,” she said. “It’s just kind of hard to go forward.”…

Read More

‘A living hell’: Former federal inmates describe years of sexual abuse by prison officers

R H

Source: usatoday.com 12/13/22 Three survivors of sexual assault in federal prison described years of horrific abuse by prison staffers who used their unfettered access to vulnerable inmates and threatened them with retaliation if they reported the attacks. All three former inmates, their voices cracking with emotion, told a Senate investigative panel Tuesday that the federal Bureau of Prisons had failed them and often shielded their attackers from accountability. One of the victims, Linda De La Rosa, told the committee, which has been investigating the sexual abuse of federal inmates for the…

Read More

OH: Surprise survey finds compliance among registered sexual offenders

R H

Source: dispatch.com 12/13/22 Several law-enforcement agencies Dec. 2 conducted unannounced checks of 40 registered sex offenders in Delaware County, finding that a high percentage were in compliance with their residential registration. During the survey, only one was found not in compliance with Ohio’s rules for registered sex offenders. Read the full article  

Read More

PA: After a registered sex offender moves near the Hampton Township school, the mother wants to change state laws

R H

Source: localtoday.news 12/7/22 Flyers distributed by Hampton Township Police Department informed parents and people living in the Central Elementary School area that a registered sex offender had moved nearby. Community notification is required under Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law, but the law does not limit where an offender may live. After learning that this individual lived less than 1,200 feet from where her three children study and play during recess, Katie Wymard set to work to try to change the law. “They’re on break every day and it’s literally in his backyard,”…

Read More

CT: Connecticut woman sentenced to year in jail for voyeurism

R H

Source: apnews.com 11/29/22 A wealthy Connecticut woman whose criminal case file was sealed from public view was sentenced Tuesday to one year in jail for secretly recording three people, including a minor, in a manner involving sexual desire. Hadley _____, 54, of Greenwich, was led out of the state courtroom in Stamford in handcuffs by judicial marshals. She declined to make a statement on her behalf during the hearing, only answering several yes or no questions by the judge. Judge John Blawie, who sealed _____’s case file earlier this year…

Read More

TX: Online child predators: The rise of these criminals, the vigilantes trying to catch them and the legal battle that follows

R H

Source: wfaa.com 12/11/22 As many aspects of Americans’ everyday lives continue to move more online, criminals are shifting their focus as well. That includes child predators, and the people trying to stop them — both police officers and civilians. According to data from multiple agencies, there has been a rise in reports of child sexual exploitation online in recent years. While different local, state and federal agencies are trying to protect families and stop these criminals, many social media influencers are also changing the focus of their videos to try…

Read More