[leg.mn.gov] Minnesota State Legislature bill search by “Crimes and Criminals-Sexual Offenses” The following is a partial list of proposed bills / laws regarding sex offenses that could possibly be up for a vote this legislative session. Use the link above to do a current search. 1. SF1730 / No HR introduced – Sex trafficking of a child added to the definition of “Substantial Child Endangerment” 2. SF1466 / HF409 – Terminating parental rights of the perpetrator for any child conceived due to the commission of a sexual conduct crime. This…
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Use science, not stigma, to determine the next steps for Nushawn Williams (Commentary)
[syracuse.com – 3/16/21] Dr. William M. Valenti is a New York state-licensed physician in practice in Rochester. He has worked in HIV medicine, research and HIV health policy since 1981. Anne Kelsey is a staff attorney at the Center for HIV Law and Policy, in Brooklyn. In 1999, Nushawn Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape and two counts of reckless endangerment for having sex while HIV positive at the age of 19 and 20 years old. He served the full sentence of 12 years, but days before…
Read MoreKY: Senate panel advances bill supporting child sex-abuse victims
[forwardky.com – 3/16/21] A bill that would extend the statute of limitations for misdemeanor sex offenses involving minors from five to ten years after their eighteenth birthday is progressing through the Legislature. Written by Nadia Ramlagan of Kentucky News Connection Supporters of House Bill 472, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Bechler, R-Marion, said it will help more survivors be heard and their perpetrators held accountable. Nationwide, one in four girls and one in thirteen boys will experience sexual abuse, and 34% of all victims are younger than 12, according to data…
Read MoreIN: Bill would allow adults to be charged for sex crimes they committed years earlier as minors
[indystar.com – 3/16/21] Indiana lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow courts to charge people over the age of 21 as adults for child molestation acts they committed when they were teenagers. Supporters say they are trying to address an unintentional gap in Indiana law. They say there is no way to criminally convict those who are over 21 years old for child molestation acts they committed as teenagers. “There’s a gap in the law where the perpetrator has no accountability,” said David Powell, a representative from the Prosecuting…
Read MoreAL: Mill Street tent camp residents concerned over relocation
[whnt.com – 3/16/21] HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Several residents of a tent camp on Mill Street are expressing their concerns over the forced move to a different location. Some homeless Huntsville residents have until the end of the week to move as the city works on flood mitigation on Mill Street. While some may transition to service centers, many won’t or can’t. Instead, they will be moved to another tent camp on Derrick Street, but that presents another problem. People living at the Mill Street tent camp say there are several…
Read MoreIN: Annual Fee for Sex Offender Registration introduced in Vigo County
The Vigo County Council approved an ordinance establishing fees for sex offenders. The ordinance will set a $50 annual fee for sex or violent offender registration and a $5 for each time a sex or violent offender registers an address change. Vigo County Commissioner Chris Switzer says that Sheriff Plasse approached the County Commissioners with this idea last year. COVID-19 pushed it back a bit, but he says he’s happy the County was able to get this passed. Full Article
Read MoreTinder users will soon be able to access a background check database
[engadget.com – 3/15/21] The data is coming first to Tinder, but will probably be in other Match Group apps as well. The owner of massive dating apps Tinder and Match has just announced a new partnership to help keep its users safe. Match Group, which owns Tinder, Match, OK Cupid, Hinge and several other services, has made an investment in Garbo, a non-profit, female-founded background check platform. As part of the deal, Garbo’s platform will be available to people using Match Group apps, starting with Tinder later this year. If…
Read MoreTX: Proposed Kyle sex offender law has supporters and opponents
[communityimpact.com – 3/15/21] Kyle City Council will consider passing a new ordinance which would restrict where some individuals on the Texas sex offender registry can reside, regardless of whether or not the offender is on probation or parole. The ordinance, brought to council by Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett, specifically targets offenders convicted of crimes involving minors. Of the city’s 67 residents on the registry, nine were convicted of minor-related crimes. Kyle does not have the most sex offenders in the region—New Braunfels has 106—but its ratio to normal residents…
Read MoreAction Alert: Oppose Florida Senate Bill 932 Time-Share Block
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/15/21] [Note from ACSOL: the bill applies only to registrants in Florida, however, sometimes legislators are swayed by input from those in other states] Florida Action Committee website article: Florida Senate Bill 932 is on the Agenda to go before the Criminal Justice Committee tomorrow 03/16/21 at 12:30 pm. SB 932 prohibits a court from granting time-sharing with a minor child to a parent registered as a sexual offender or sexual predator. It literally says timesharing MAY NOT be given to a registrant parent unless a judge makes…
Read MoreTX: Man who ID’d himself to police with sex offender card at Conroe Catholic school sentenced to 99 years in prison
[click2houston.com – 3/11/21] CONROE, Texas – A jury sentenced a sex offender to 99 years in prison on Wednesday, officials said. James ____, 65, received the sentence for failing to comply with his sex offender registration requirements. Prosecutors said they presented evidence that ____was unlawfully present at the Sacred Heart Catholic School on April 26, 2019. Read the full article
Read MoreTX: What I learned working in a Texas prison: Retribution, not reformation
[baptistnews.com – 3/11/21] I served as a pastor for 33 years and then worked nearly six years as a counselor at the most high-profile maximum-security prison in Texas. There, I ran the mental health department, nestled in the prison infirmary, which serves all the offenders and, in emergencies, staff and correctional staff. Looking back, I can say there is nothing in the Texas criminal justice system or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that is right, meets the standards of “not cruel or unusual punishment,” nor is fundamentally rooted in…
Read MoreCO: Justices consider ramifications of declaring sex offender sentences illegal
[coloradopolitics.com – 3/11/21] Colorado’s 23-year-old sex offender sentencing law is in the hands of the state Supreme Court, as the justices on Wednesday considered whether the Court should strike down a common method of sentencing those defendants charged with felony sex crimes. The Denver District Attorney’s Office appealed a pair of cases to the Court following the 2019 decision of Allman v. People, in which the justices barred people from receiving both prison terms and probation when they are convicted of multiple offenses in a single case. The court reasoned…
Read MoreWY: Supreme Court – Sex Offender Must Continue To Register In 1994 Conviction
A man who was required to register as a sex offender because of a change in state law must continue to register even though his conviction occurred more than 25 years ago, Wyoming’s Supreme Court has ruled. … At the time of his conviction, ____ was not required to register as a sex offender because the victim was over 16. However, state law changed in 2007 to require registration by those convicted of third-degree sexual assault regardless of the age of the victim. … However, justices said ____ did not…
Read MoreNY: New York Proposes “Clean Slate” Bill to Seal and Expunge Criminal Records [Except Registrants]
[esrcheck.com – 3/10/21] A “Clean Slate” bill proposed in the New York State Senate would create a two-step process to automatically seal and eventually expunge – or erase or remove completely – certain past criminal convictions so ex-offenders may have an easier time finding employment opportunities, according to a report from the New York Daily News. Sponsored by New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie (Democrat-20th District) in January 2021, Senate Bill S1553A (SB S1553A) would amend the criminal procedure law by adding a new section so certain criminal convictions for…
Read MoreNE: School placed in “lock out” during sex offender investigation
[nebraska.tv – 3/10/21] GENOA, Neb. — Twin River Public Schools was briefly placed in “lock out” Tuesday while the Nance County Sheriff’s Office measured the distance between the residence of a recently-registered sex offender and the school. In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office said 27-year-old George ____ registered at the Nebraska State Patrol office in Norfolk and listed a Genoa address. NSP explained to ____ that he could not live within 500 feet of a school or childcare facility per Nebraska statute. Read the full article
Read MoreBiden Prepares to Strip College Students [accused of sexual misconduct] of Due-Process Rights
[news.yahoo.com – 3/10/21] It’s always worth reminding people that if President Joe Biden were compelled to live by the standards he intends to institute for college students accused of sexual misconduct, he would be presumed guilty of rape, denied any legitimate opportunity to refute Tara Reade’s charges, and tossed from office in disgrace. The New York Times reports today that Biden’s Kafkaesque “White House Gender Policy Council” is “beginning his promised effort to dismantle Trump-era rules on sexual misconduct that afforded greater protections to students accused of assault.” The subhead…
Read MoreMoratorium Against the Use of Derogatory Words Replaced by Person-First Language
[einpresswire.com and womenagainstregistry.org – 3/8/21] Restoring Families of People who are Required to Register by Ending Dehumanizing and Derogatory Labels ARNOLD, MO, UNITED STATES, March 8, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — Women Against Registry Family Foundation Announces the Launch of a Twelve Month Moratorium banning derogatory or negative words used across the nation when describing a person convicted of any sex-related offense or in reference to their families including the children. Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done – Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice…
Read MoreIL: Apartment building where sex offenders have stayed should be shut down, Englewood residents say
[chicago.suntimes.com – 3/8/21] Englewood residents protested outside an apartment building Monday that they said had become a frequent home to paroled sex offenders. The latest to move-in is Cayce ____, convicted in the 1997 sexual assault and murder of 20-month-old Quortney Kley. ____moved to the 6600 block of South Perry Avenue last week from Crystal Lake after residents in that McHenry County city petitioned for his removal. ____ is on mandatory supervised release — got out of prison in February after serving 24 years of a 48-year sentence, according to…
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