Category: National

House overwhelmingly passes Smith’s newest legislation to combat human trafficking

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Source: insidernj.com 7/26/22 WASHINGTON—Ahead of this Saturday’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed critical anti-trafficking legislation—the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2022—authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) together with Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) in a strong bipartisan vote of 401-20. … “Today’s legislation will also reauthorize the amazing work being done by Homeland Security’s Angel Watch Center—a project mandated by my International Megan’s Law (IML) enacted in 2016,” said Smith, Co-chair of the Human Trafficking Caucus, which he…

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TN: Former Rutherford County Sheriff’s colonel charged with sex offender registry violation

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Source: dnj.com 7/22/22 A former Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department colonel has been charged with a felony for sexual offender registration form violation.  Edward “Eddie” T. ___, 63, of Murfreesboro, was taken into custody Thursday by Murfreesboro Police Department officers and U.S. Marshals. Eddie, who was fired from RCSO in 2005, was booked into the Rutherford County Detention Center Thursday and released on a $5,000 bond. Read the full article  

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AL: Sheriff’s Office: Convicted sex offender arrested for SORNA violations

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Source: whnt.com 7/22/ LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — A convicted sex offender was arrested this week after selling his home and leaving the state, according to the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office. Officials say an investigator with the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office was alerted on June 23 that Leonard, 70, of Lester, was in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).  According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Sex Offender Registry, Leonard is a convicted sex offender with his offense listed as second-degree rape. Read the full article…

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WA: Conservative Christian pastor arrested for child rape after allegedly grooming underage girl

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Source: msn.com 7/22/22 A 27-year-old right-wing youth pastor from Arlington, Washington has been charged with two counts of third-degree child rape for allegedly sexually abusing a girl who at the time was just 15 years old. The Everett Herald reports that prosecutors are alleging that Kendal ____ met a 15-year-old girl at a youth group in 2017, when Kendal was at the time 22 years old. The two became friends and exchanged contact information, which the girl told prosecutors flattered her at the time. The girl also said that she felt comfortable exchanging her…

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PA: Ex-Police Chief Sentenced to Prison for Sex Crimes

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Source: attorneygeneral.gov 7/18/22 HARRISBURG–Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that former Weissport Chief of Police Brent Getz, of Lehighton, Pa., was sentenced to Brent Getz was sentenced today to 16-32 years in prison followed by three years consecutive probation for the repeated rape of a child and will be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life under SORNA. “This sentencing ensures that Getz is held accountable for his horrific actions and that his victim receives long-awaited justice,” said AG Shapiro. “My office is committed…

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FL: The County Where Businesses Can Self-Identify As Parks in Order to Keep Sex Offenders Away

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Source: reason.com/ 7/19/22 In 2020, an ordinance in Brevard County, Florida, permitted a business to certify itself as a place where children congregate—the moral equivalent of a park—thereby making it a crime for anyone on the sex offense registry to venture inside, or loiter nearby. The idea, apparently, was to make kids even safer from danger. But, “proximity” laws prohibiting sex offenders from public places like playgrounds have not been shown to make kids any safer, says Emily Horowitz, a sociologist who researches sex offense law and policy. At the…

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At least 181 K-12 educators charged with child sex crimes in first half of 2022

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Source: foxnews.com 7/20/22 140 of the arrests, or 77%, involved alleged sex crimes against students At least 181 K-12 educators, including four principals, were arrested on child sex-related crimes in the U.S. in the first six months of 2022, ranging from child pornography to raping students. An analysis conducted by Fox News Digital looked at local news stories week by week featuring arrests of principals, teachers, substitute teachers and teachers’ aides on child sex-related crimes in school districts across the country. Arrests that weren’t publicized were not counted in the…

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NC: What is Dads Against Predators? What to know about group tied to alleged attack at NC Target

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Source: charlotteobserver.com 7/6/22 An incident that police say led to a gun being fired in a North Carolina Target store has raised questions about the group “Dads Against Predators,” its history and its presence in the state. Three men with ties to the organization lured a 25-year-old man to a Winston-Salem Target in late June and attacked him, according to police, leading the man to fire a gun in the store. It’s not the first time the group, also known as “D.A.P.,” has had run-ins with the law. Read the…

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WI: Wisconsin court rules against transgender sex offender

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Source: wgno.com 7/7/22 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled Thursday that a transgender woman cannot change her name because she is on the state’s sex offender registry and the law does not allow people on the registry to change their names. The court’s 4-3 decision upholds the rulings of two lower courts, which rejected the woman’s requests to change her name and avoid registering as a sex offender. Read the full article  

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TN: Asset forfeiture laws expanded for sexual assault and kidnapping

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Source: wkrn.com 7/5/22 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new state law has expanded criminal asset forfeiture for 12 statutes, mostly surrounding rape and kidnapping. It’s one of the first laws of its kind in the United States. The new law means criminals who violate those laws could lose their homes, cars, weapons, and any property involved in the commission of the crime. State Representative Brandon Ogles of Williamson County sponsored the bill (HB 2271) and explained that if someone kidnaps a person in their car, police can seize the vehicle.…

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WI: Sex offender ‘won’t be released’ unless he accepts housing

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Source: spmetrowire.com 7/1/22 The Stevens Point Police Department says a convicted sex offender has chosen to be homeless upon his release from prison on July 5. Cody ____, 28, was convicted in 2014 of having sexual intercourse with a then-13-year-old girl in 2010 after he invited the girl, and her friend, to his neighbor’s garage and provided them with marijuana that may have contained a “date rape” drug. Cody also had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old in 2012 and had her text him nude photos of herself, police say. While…

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FL: Florida teen creates fake online persona to catch child predator

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Source: www.wesh.com 6/29/22 FORT PIERCE, Fla. —A Florida teen is being credited with putting a child predator behind bars. According to WPBF, back in January, 38-year-old Zachary ___ of Jensen Beach started talking to who he believed was a 14-year-old girl named “Shayla” on the internet. “Shayla” was actually a 16-year-old boy who was trying to find predators in his area. “Here you have a 16-year-old boy wanting to take the matter into his own hands and find these child predators in his area, and he found one,” Callahan Walsh,…

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ND: North Dakota’s sex offender registry gets update to provide residents more information

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Source: kfyrtv.com 6/25/22 BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – In 1947, California became the first state in the US to have a sex offender registry program and, over the years, other states followed suit. North Dakota’s law was passed in 1991. The registries are meant to give residents the tools to protect themselves from victimization. Now, North Dakota’s registry is getting an upgrade to provide residents more information. The website, sexoffender.nd.gov, will now display photos of all offenders regardless of risk level and offer additional search functions to determine offender location and…

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WI: Winnebago County approves $1 million housing project for released violent sex offenders

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Source: news.yahoo.com 6/22/22 OSHKOSH – The Winnebago County Board passed a resolution Tuesday night to spend just over $1 million to build a housing facility for certain violent sex offenders that state law requires the county to house. Multiple single-resident housing units would be built on county property near County Y to house recently released offenders. In 2018, then-Gov. Scott Walker signed a law shifting the responsibility to counties to provide housing or suitable housing to purchase for certain sex offenders who committed a sexually violent offense. Previously, it was…

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NY: Under public pressure, Pleasant Night Inn owners bar sex offenders from West Carthage hotel

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Source: news.yahoo.com 6/20/22 Jun. 20—WEST CARTHAGE — The owners of the Pleasant Night Inn have said they no longer wish to house registered sex offenders. In a letter to the Jefferson County Department of Social Services, for which the Inn provides rooms to house people in emergency housing programs, owner Pratesh R. Patel requested that no registered sex offenders be placed in the hotel. “As of July 18, 2022, we have amended our hotel policy to no longer accept registered sex offenders at our location,” Mr. Patel said in the…

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AZ: Elderly Child Molesters Pose Dilemma For Courts And Community

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Source: arizonadailyindependent.com 6/18/22 Richard ___ was placed on intensive supervised probation last summer after pleading guilty in a Cochise County courtroom to felony sexual abuse of a teenaged boy who lived in Richard’s neighborhood. It was the latest in a string of sexual misconduct with children the now 85-year-old has engaged in dating back to the 1950s, according to court records.  But Richard has been in the county jail since June 9 on a no-bail order at the request of his probation officer who alleges Richard recently committed three violations…

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FL: A Florida appeals court approves ‘gain time’ for a man convicted of an attempted sex crime on a child

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Source: news.wfsu.org 6/12/22 Rejecting longstanding legal precedent, a state appeals court said Friday that a man convicted of attempted sexual battery on a child is eligible to be considered for early release from prison. The ruling by the full 1st District Court of Appeal turned down arguments by the Florida Department of Corrections and drew two dissents. It involved whether inmate McMillan Gould should be eligible for what is known as prison “gain time” after pleading no contest to attempted sexual battery on a child under age 12. Judge Adam…

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TN: Phone scam with a new twist: Pay or be placed on the sex offender registry

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Source: wkrn.com 6/9/22 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A new phone scam is making its way around the Nashville area. According to the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Fraud and Sex Crimes detectives, the scam sees Nashvillians called by someone claiming to be from the department warning them they’ll be placed on the sex offender registry unless they pay the caller money. The caller uses an actual Metro officer’s name, according to police. The calls use spoofing technology to appear as if they come from a legitimate Metro Police phone number. Metro…

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