Category: National

CT: Stratford Man Refuses Probation, Wants Jail Instead!

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The man is convicted of a sex offense and reportedly believes probation would make him a pariah in the community. STRATFORD, CT — A 61-year-old Stratford man, who was convicted of a sex offense, was sentenced to 30 months in prison this week on a probation violation, after he told a judge he would break probation again if given such a sentence, reported the Connecticut Post. Rae was convicted on possession of child pornography charges in 2009 and was released in October of last year. Prior to that sentence, he…

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MD: Maryland’s Most Wanted – Kevin, convicted of a sex offense

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Source: foxbaltimore.com 6/22/21 BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A person convicted of a sex offense accused of failing to register and then skipping town is the focus of this week’s Maryland’s Most Wanted. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, 59-year-old Kevin … has been on the run for more than a year. Kevin, who was convicted of sexual assault in New Jersey in 2001, is now accused of failing to register. “There’s a reason the law requires these individuals to register,” said Deputy US Marshal Al Maresca. “It’s in the public interest.”…

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AL: Gadsden person on the registry arrested for not carrying proper identification

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Source: cbs42.com 6/22/21 ETOWAH COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — A Gadsden man was arrested during a traffic stop last week when authorities discovered he had a sex offense conviction in his past and did not meet the identification requirements under Alabama law. According to the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, Timothy ____ was arrested during a traffic stop in the Gallant area on June 16. During the traffic stop, the deputy discovered Timothy had a sex offense conviction in his past and he was not carrying the required identification needed under Alabama…

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MI: Lawsuit against state’s Sex Offense Registry Act enters final judgment

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Source: wnem.com 6/21/21 A federal judge has granted a motion for litigation about the state’s sex offense act to enter final judgment. Parts of Michigan’s Sex Offense Registration Act (SORA) were ruled unconstitutional by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland on Feb. 14, 2020. The litigation has been ongoing for nine years. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the court delayed the final judgment in April 2020. The court held a retroactive punishment of the 2011 amendments to SORA can not be served. Several other SORA provisions were found unconstitutional for…

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Compliance checks conducted of 620 people with a sex offense conviction, [only] 18 arrests made

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Source: msn.com 6/18/21 A recent  compliance check of people convicted of a sex offense was conducted in the valley during the week of June 7-11, 2021. The LVMPD’s “Sex Offender Apprehension Team”, in conjunction with the United States Marshals Service “Sex Offender Predator Apprehension Team” and Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force, reached out to over 620 registered people. Fifteen arrests were made for Failure to Obey Sex Offense Registration Laws and an additional three arrests were made for outstanding arrest warrants related to current alledged sex crime investigations. People…

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CO: Supreme Court exempts people listed on registry from key 2019 decision

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Ruling in 2019 prohibits sentencing defendants to prison followed by probation in same criminal case The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday exempted people with a sex offense conviction from a key 2019 decision that prohibited defendants from being sentenced to prison followed by probation in the same criminal case. People with a sex offense conviction in Colorado can face such punishment in some circumstances, the justices found in a pair of opinions that examined how the state’s sentencing laws for sex offenses drastically differ from sentencing for other crimes. The…

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MD: Who is Meredith Martin? Ex-teacher acquitted of sex abuse after student lied

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Source: meaww.com 6/15/21 ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND: A former Arundel County, Maryland, high school teacher, has been acquitted of charges of having sex with a student after it was found that the victim who made the allegations lied years ago while under oath in court. Meredith Susan Barry Martin, 39, who was also a former biology teacher at South River High School, was found not guilty of five counts of having intercourse while in a position of authority, one count of unnatural or perverted practice, and sex abuse of a minor. She was also found…

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MT: Advocates not thrilled with new law to compensate wrongfully imprisoned

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Source: kbzk.com 6/15/21 HELENA — Montanans who spent years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit now have a new path to get compensation for being wrongfully locked away – but those who fought for the law are less-than-thrilled about the final product. “I really feel like it got stolen away at the end,” said Cody Marble of Conrad, who was exonerated in 2017 after spending multiple years in prison on a rape conviction. Marble is talking about House Bill 92, which created a process through which the wrongfully convicted…

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LA: Special IDs for people with a sex offense conviction: Safety Measures or Scarlet Letters?

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Source: nytimes.com 6/15/21 Judge Patrick L. Michot, of the 15th Judicial District Court in Lafayette, La., said the notation was “not the least restrictive way to further the state’s legitimate interest of notifying law enforcement.” “It could be accomplished in the same way that some other states utilize,” he said. “Louisiana could use more discreet labels in the form of codes that are known to law enforcement.” Of the nine states that call for some sort of disclosure of sex-offense status on state ID cards, Louisiana and four others require…

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CT: New CT Laws: Weapons, Underwater Farms And The ‘Clean Slate’ Bill

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Source: patch.com 6/13/21 CONNECTICUT —The state’s General Assembly 2021 Regular Session adjourned June 9, but promised to convene a special session before the end of the month to tackle the legal marijuana bill. Will it pass? That’s still a coin-toss, but a number of bills have made their way out of the House and Senate and onto Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk, where they were signed into law in the past few weeks. Senate Bill 1019, the so-called “clean slate bill” is arguably the most life-changing of the latest batch of…

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TX: Man sentenced to 40 years in prison for failing to register

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[Source: click2houston.com – 6/10/21] GALVESTON, Texas – A man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by a Galveston County jury after he failed to register on the sex offense registry, according to the Galveston County Criminal District Attorney. Thomas Lee Alexander, III was required to register with local law enforcement because of a 1995 conviction for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in Harris County, according to the DA’s Office. In 2017, Alexander moved from Galveston to Indiana without notifying local authorities, and in 2019, the Galveston Police Department…

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Retired Army major general demoted for sex crime conviction

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[Source: wtop.com – 6/8/21] WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secretary of Defense has reduced a retired Army major general to the rank of second lieutenant after his guilty plea in Virginia in 2020 to charges of rape and incest. The Army Times reports Pentagon spokeswoman Lisa Lawrence says Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demoted Maj. Gen. James J. Grazioplene to second lieutenant after determining that second lieutenant was the highest grade in which he served on active duty satisfactorily. Grazioplene initially called the charges against him “false and incorrect.” Lawrence says the…

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FL: Martin County deputies arrest multiple people listed on the registry for altering their driver’s licenses

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[Source: wptv.com – 6/9/21] STUART, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is warning business owners to be on the lookout for doctored driver’s licenses when hiring potential employees. “So, on his license, apparently there is supposed to be something that states that he’s a “sexual predator” or something on his license and his has like a cigarette burn there,” said Hillary Hughes. Hughes said she recently unknowingly hired a new employee who was convicted of a sexual offense. The employee had altered his driver’s license to cover the “sexual…

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South Carolina Supreme Court Declares Lifetime Registration Without Court Assessment to be Unconstitutional

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[ACSOL] The Supreme Court of South Carolina issued a decision today that declared unconstitutional lifetime registration in that state because the state does not provide registrants “any opportunity for judicial review to assess the risk of re-offending.”  Specifically, the Court ruled that lifetime registration violates the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. “Because of this decision, registrants in South Carolina will no longer be required to register for life unless and until a court assesses their risk of re-offending,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “This is a big…

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FL: Palm Coast man kills self outside courthouse before he was to be sentenced for CP

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[Source: news-journalonline.com – 6/9/21] A Palm Coast man drove to the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell on Tuesday morning to be sentenced to 3½ years in prison on 10 counts of possession of child pornography. But instead of walking into the courthouse, Mario ___, 47, remained in his truck and apparently shot himself to death outside the courthouse, according to a release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Mario had pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possession of child porn, which is punishable by up to 150 years in…

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FL: Flagler County adds new restrictions on where people listed on the registry can reside

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[palmcoastobserver.com – 6/8/21] The Flagler County Commission has enacted new restrictions on where people listed on the sexual offense registry may reside, increasing safety buffers around places where children are known to gather. The commission voted 5-0 in favor of the new regulations during its June 7 meeting after Sheriff Rick Staly spoke in favor of the additional limits. The county’s existing ordinance had barred people listed on the registry from residing within 1,000 feet of schools, daycare centers, parks or playgrounds. The commission’s June 7 vote adds school bus…

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NJ: Senate approves bill that would ban people listed on the registry from medical licensing

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[pix11.com – 6/4/21] TRENTON, N.J. — The New Jersey State Senate unanimously approved a bill Friday that would prohibit the licensing of any health care worker convicted of a sexual offense. The bill would also reform the state’s chiropractor board after a person listed on the registry and  on lifetime parole in Florida had his license reinstated by that board. Read the full article  

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CO: Bill To Transform Management of people listed on the registry Pulled After Claims It Would Hurt Public Safety

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[denver.cbslocal.com – 6/3/21] DENVER (CBS4) — A bill to revamp how people listed on the registry are managed in Colorado was pulled after prosecutors accused the bill’s sponsors of putting public safety at risk. The bill addresses everything from the conditions for release from prison to the sex offense registry. The Colorado District Attorneys’ Council says 70% of people convicted of sex offenses in Colorado don’t even go to prison. Of those who do, it says, the vast majority of them are convicted of sexually assaulting children. Initially, the bill…

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