Category: National

NY: New York Enacts Revival Statutes, Renewing Expired Claims for Sexual Assault

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Source: weil.com 8/2/22 In 2019, the state of New York passed legislation extending the statute of limitations for civil causes of action for certain sex offenses from three years to 20 years. However, that law was prospective only. Now, New York is providing recourse for sexual assault survivors whose civil claims have expired. On May 24, 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Adult Survivors Act (ASA) into law. A so-called “revival statute,” the ASA provides a one year window for adult sexual assault survivors to bring otherwise time-barred…

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FL: WESH 2 Investigates allegations of sex offenders being allowed to vote

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Source: wesh.com 8/1/22 Morris ___ lives in Poinciana. Elections office records indicate he’s “eligible to vote in Osceola County.” His status is “active,” meaning he can vote next month and this November in Osceola County and in the 2020 general election, he did vote. Morris is also a registered sex offender. Because of this, he should be ineligible to vote under Florida law. WESH 2 checked online with the executive office of clemency, under Morris’s name and prison ID number. It confirms his civil rights have not been restored. By…

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KS: Kansas Supreme Court Holds Registration Violation is a Strict Liability Crime

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Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 7/31/22 Not knowing you have to register something or not having the mental capacity to understand how to register is not a defense to a registration violation according to the Supreme Court of Kansas. A person required to register in Kansas was convicted of a failure to register offense. He was required to report quarterly, every May, August, November, and February, plus changes.On September 18, he went in to report a change of phone number. He went in again on October 9 to report an address change. But…

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RealPage incorrect sex offender data $9.73M class action lawsuit settlement

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Source: topclassactions.com 7/28/22 RealPage agreed to pay over $9.73 million to resolve claims that it violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by allowing incorrect sex offender registry data on tenant screening reports. The class action lawsuit settlement benefits individuals who were subject to a RealPage report between June 14, 2017, and March 2, 2021, where the report included a record from a sex offender registry with the record matching the report subject based on the birth date range, but where further review shows a differing birth date. RealPage…

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IN: VCSO: Man says he shot a sex offender

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Source: tristatehomepage.com 7/28/22 VANDERBURGH CO., Ind. (WEHT) – The man accused of shooting and killing another man on Maggie Valley Drive in Vanderburgh County apparently did so because he thought the man he shot was a sex offender. Ricky Allen Kiper Jr. was arrested Wednesday and charged with the murder of James Christopher McClernon.  An autopsy shows McClernon died of multiple gunshot wounds. According to court documents Kiper showed up at a home where McClernon was staying around 3:00 Wednesday afternoon.  The documents go on to say Kiper, McClernon and…

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FL: CALL TO ACTION: Brevard County Commission Meeting

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Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 7/27/22 The agenda for the forthcoming Brevard County Commission meeting has been posted and they WILL be discussing the amendment to their sexual offender/sexual predator ordinance. We are calling upon members to appear at the Commission meeting to speak against the ordinance and show support for the other members who will speak against it. The meeting will take place on August 2, 2022, 5:00 PM, at 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, FL 32940 This is our opportunity to show up and speak out, please, please, please do…

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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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