Category: National

OH: Lawmakers consider changing penalties for sex offenders

R H

Source: journal-news.com 11/16/22 A bill to modify the state’s law on people charged civilly, but not criminally, with child sexual abuse had its first hearing Tuesday in the House Criminal Justice Committee. House Bill 689 would double the statute of limitations, from two years to four, for prosecuting a mandatory reporter who failed to report child abuse, said the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati. That is the longest period for any misdemeanor offense, he said. For cases in which the statute of limitations for prosecuting sex offenders has…

Read More

60 Junior ROTC Instructors Accused of Sexual Misconduct in Past Five Years, Investigation Finds

R H

Source: military.com 11/16/22 Sixty instructors in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps have been accused of sexual misconduct against high school cadets in the last five years, according to a congressional report released Wednesday. Of those, allegations against 58 instructors were substantiated by local law enforcement or school officials, according to the report from the House Oversight Committee’s majority staff, which was released ahead of a hearing on the JROTC program Wednesday morning. The committee findings come after The New York Times reported earlier this year that at least 33…

Read More

Elizabeth Smart and tech company launch app to locate missing children and adults

R H

Source: axios.com 11/16/22 Elizabeth Smart, who survived her harrowing abduction in Salt Lake City two decades ago, has partnered with Portland-based tech company Q5id to launch an app that aims to locate missing children and adults. Why it matters: More than 600,000 individuals go missing each year in the U.S., according to The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Details: Q5id Guardian, which launched Monday, allows app members to initiate an alert to other users the moment they believe their loved one is missing. Users can create profiles of their…

Read More

NY: Review: Downstate Offers Sympathy for Sex Offenders and Scrutiny for Victims

R H

Source: theatermania.com 11/15/22 “Victims don’t lie,” a character confidently claims in Downstate, the provocative new drama by Bruce Norris, now making its New York debut at Playwrights Horizons. And in saying this, he is only regurgitating a bit of dogma that has been repeatedly affirmed by the dominant culture — particularly since the #MeToo movement of 2017. If you’re like me, you hear such sentiments and a little voice in your brain whispers, bullshit. In Downstate, that voice belongs to Dee (K. Todd Freeman, giving one of the most exhilarating…

Read More

$20 million given to states and territories to register and track sex offenders

R H

Source: wtaj.com 11/14/22 The Office of Justice Programs Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking announced it has awarded approximately $20 million to help states, U.S. territories and tribal communities register and track sex offenders and protect Americans from sexual violence. .“Its important for the professionals charged with protecting the public to have information about where people convicted of sex offenses live, work and attend school,” Deputy Assistant Attorney General Maureen A. Henneberg said.  Read the full article  

Read More

At least 269 K-12 educators arrested on child sex crimes in first 9 months of this year

R H

Source: foxnews.com 10/14/22 Nearly 270 public educators were arrested on child sex-related crimes in the U.S. in the first nine months of this year, ranging from grooming to raping underage students. An analysis conducted by Fox News Digital found that from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, at least 269 educators were arrested, which works out to roughly one arrest a day. The 269 educators included four principals, two assistant principals, 226 teachers, 20 teacher’s aides and 17 substitute teachers.   At least 199 of the arrests, or 74%, involved alleged…

Read More

ID: Idaho settles lawsuit over antiquated anti-sodomy law

R H

Source: whec.com 11/10/22 BOISE, Idaho (AP) — People who were convicted of having oral or anal sex under an antiquated Idaho law will be allowed to be removed from the state’s sex offender list, according to a settlement Idaho has reached to resolve a two-year-old lawsuit. The Idaho State Police will also pay the legal fees of the men who sued over the law, according to the settlement filed in Idaho’s U.S. District Court on Thursday. “There’s no reason in 2022 that anybody should be on the sex offender list…

Read More

NC: Accusing opponent of being soft on sex offenders helps candidate to win

R H

Source: usnews.com 11/9/22 Republican Ted Budd has won the Senate race in North Carolina, edging out Democrat Cheri Beasley and dashing her party’s hopes of flipping the seat left open in the key battleground state by departing Republican Sen. Richard Burr. The victory keeps open Republicans’ pathway to gaining control of the chamber, while increasing the stakes for Democratic incumbents locked in other tight races around the country as the party attempts to hang onto power. … Budd ran a relentlessly negative ad campaign about Beasley, painting her as weak…

Read More

FL: 10-year-old student may face battery charge after hugging school counselor

R H

Source: nbcnews.com 11/9/22 A 10-year-old boy was suspended from his Florida elementary school and faces a charge of misdemeanor battery after he was accused of inappropriately touching a school counselor during a hug, an allegation his family denies. The counselor at Holly Hill School in Volusia County alleged that she was visiting a classroom on Oct. 24 to discuss something when the fourth-grader approached her for a hug, according to a police report and a copy of his suspension letter provided by the boy’s family’s attorneys.  She said she “turned…

Read More

AL: Years after brothers serve 20 years for rape they said they did not commit, judge tosses wrongful conviction

R H

Source: al.com 11/8/22 Frank Meadows, Jr. may never wear sneakers again. He and his older brother Quinton Cook can laugh about it now. They can laugh about something as inconsequential as footwear and what they’ll wear to church. They can laugh about it now because of the consequential weight recently lifted from their lives when Jefferson County Circuit Judge Shanta’ Owens ruled last month that the two men were wrongfully convicted of rape in 1993, a crime the two men always declared they did not commit. A crime for which…

Read More

UPDATE: SORNA Regulations Hearing Delayed Until January 13

R H

Source: ACSOL UPDATE: The federal district court in Riverside has delayed the hearing in the SORNA regulations case.  The new date for the hearing is January 13.  The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and is open to the public.  The hearing can also be viewed online.  Additional details regarding how to view the hearing online will be provided close to the hearing date.

Read More

AZ: Scottsdale adopts new anti-registrant rules for short-term rental property operators

R H

Source: ktar.com 11/7/22 Scottsdale became the latest city to approve of new rules aiming to better guide short-term rental owners and properties.  The new requirements include obtaining a Scottsdale license for each property, organizing sex offender and background checks on booking guests and … Read the full article  

Read More

MI: Washtenaw County’s sheriff criticizes those attacking former felons program

R H

Source: wemu.org 11/7/22 Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton is calling out some people with political interests who are questioning county-funded programs that use former criminals to help prevent future crimes. One group in particular called “Supreme Felons” was targeted by some for having a registered child sex offender in the group, even though records show that individual was eliminated from the program before the partnership with the county began. In a recorded video, Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton questioned these individuals’ commitment to restorative justice and to proven crime intervention…

Read More

MO: Police: Registered sex offender arrested after handing out Halloween candy in Hazelwood

R H

Source: fox2now.com 11/4/22 Police arrested a registered sex offender Friday accused of violating state law and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween in Hazelwood. Prosecutors have charged Thomas ____ with one count of “failure to comply with Halloween related restrictions for sex offenders.” As part of Missouri state law, registered sex offenders cannot go outside to interact with children, cannot have outside lights on and are required to post a sign stating no candy or treats are available at the home on Halloween night. Read the full article  

Read More

MA: Boston doctor arrested in child sex trafficking sting, told officer he wasn’t ‘in mood’ to get caught: report

R H

Source: 11/4/22 foxnews.com A Boston doctor who unknowingly told an undercover officer he was “just not in the mood to get arrested today” has been detained in a federal child sex trafficking sting, a report says.  Sadeq ____, an anesthesiologist at Tufts Medical Center, is now facing a charge of attempted sex trafficking of a child after allegedly agreeing to pay $250 to have sex with an imaginary underage girl, according to WFXT.  “When we learned today of the disturbing allegations made against Dr. ____, we immediately suspended his medical staff…

Read More

WA: Washington high court says convicted sex offender can practice law

R H

Source: reuters.com 11/3/22 A sharply divided Washington Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a man who was previously convicted of a sex offense and other crimes can be licensed as an attorney. The 5-4 decision clears the way for Zachary LeRoy Stevens, who graduated from Arizona State University’s law school in 2018, to practice law in Washington. The opinion said Stevens had a difficult childhood in Utah and sought refuge online, where in 2006 he sent pornographic images of minors to a detective posing as a 14-year-old. He was charged…

Read More