[kenoshanews.com – 11/30/20] The list of potential restrictions is long and full of stumbling blocks. “You shall not gain nor attempt to gain access to the internet without prior agent approval.” “You shall not possess nor view any material that depicts any intimate parts of an adult.” “You shall not establish, pursue, nor maintain any dating, romantic or sexual relationship without prior agent approval.” “You shall not be present in any location frequented by minor children without prior agent approval.” The rules can be so strict that advocates worry that…
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FL: U.S. appeals court: Lifetime computer ban for sex offender doesn’t violate First Amendment
[floridaphoenix.com – 11/30/20] A federal appeals court has upheld a lifetime ban on computer use for a South Florida sex offender who used text messaging to send a naked picture of himself to a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl. ____ challenged his conviction on grounds including violation of the First Amendment, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously upheld the sanction in a ruling handed down on Monday. The sentence, which included nearly two years in prison and lifetime conditional…
Read MoreWI: Sex offenders can seek exemptions from rural residency restrictions
[kenoshanews.com – 11/30/20] Despite a series of residency exemption requests by sex offenders over the last several years, rural town and village officials believe they have ordinances in place to both protect the public and provide areas for offenders to live. Towns and villages west of I-94 in Kenosha County amended their ordinances after rules in Pleasant Prairie were deemed by a court to be too restrictive. They create “safety zones” around areas where children congregate, such as parks, schools, and churches. “We feel that our in place Register Sex…
Read MoreFAC: Dr. Phil to feature Police ICAC proactive stings
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 11/30/20] The Dr. Phil Show airing on CBS will air an episode featuring Sex Stings next Monday, December 7, 2020. The show will feature an FAC member whose son was targeted in one of these stings who has been fighting to expose them since. Also featured is Florida attorney Peter Aiken of Aiken, O’Halloran and Associates, who defends people caught up in these stings. Read the full article and a link to the schedule
Read MoreVT: Former high-ranking VTANG member pleads guilty in child pornography case
[mychamplainvalley.com – 11/28/20] A Shelburne man who was once a high-ranking member of the Vermont Air National Guard will avoid a federal child pornography trial by pleading guilty to a lesser charge. Read the full article
Read MoreIN: WATCH NOW: Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Kersey conducts sex offender checks
[kenoshanews.com – 11/20/20] Ride Shotgun with Lake County, Indiana sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Kersey as he checks to ensure convicted Northwest Indiana sex offenders are complying with state sex-offender registry laws. This special episode of “Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops” was filmed recently in conjunction with a Midwest reporting project titled, “Out of the Shadows: Spotlight on Sex Crimes.” The special report will span multiple newspapers throughout Lee Enterprises’ Midwest news agencies and will be taking a deep look at sex crimes, the offenders, their victims and the effectiveness of state…
Read MoreWI: Wisconsin’s sex offender registry born of twin tragedies
[kenoshanews.com – 11/28/20] On any given day, anyone in Wisconsin can look up the name, address, photo, age and other identifying information on sex offenders in their area who have been placed on the state’s sex offender registry. Established in 1997, the registry was created with the aim of making communities safer, said Sarah Wescott, corrections services supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Wescott also manages the registry with other DOC staff. … The registry includes all sex offenders who live in the state, even those who were convicted…
Read MoreID: Local woman gets jail time for sexual relations with teen boy
[eastidahonews.com – 11/15/20] ARCO — A Soda Springs woman will spend time in jail after an illegal sexual relationship with a teenage boy in 2016. Amanda Katherine Steele, 35, was ordered on Tuesday by District Judge Darren Simpson to spend 90-days in jail followed by seven years on felony probation. Simpson suspended a three to 10-year prison sentence that could be served if Steele is not successful on probation. … Because Steele was not charged with a sex crime, she does not have to register as a sex offender. Read…
Read MoreIL: A timeline of how Illinois registered sex offender database was created
[pantagraph.com – 11/25/20] When Terry Parke, a state representative from Pittsfield, the chief sponsor of the Habitual Child Sex Offender Registration Act, discusses his 1986 bill, he describes it as “one of the most important laws the Legislature would consider that year.” The law requires habitual child sex offenders to register with police within 30 days of release from prison and remain registered for 10 years. “We are having an epidemic in Illinois … of sex crimes against our children,” Parke said. But state Rep. Larry Hicks, a Democrat from…
Read MoreNY: Sex offenders can be detained after sentences completed
New York’s top court upheld a law Monday that allows the state to keep sex offenders confined under some circumstances even after they have completed their sentences. In three decisions handed down Monday, the state Court of Appeals said the law didn’t violate due process guarantees, and did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Federal District Court limits ban on social media for registrants
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK [Excerpt from page 1:] While the Court appreciates the State’s compelling interest and laudable efforts to protect children from sex offender recidivists on the internet, New York’s attempt to advance this interest via blanket restrictions cannot be squared with the significant freedom of speech rights at stake. For the following reasons, Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is GRANTED. While parole officers remain free to impose individualized restrictions on supervisees based on the Registrant’s specific circumstances and risk of recidivating using…
Read MoreCommunity supervision, once intended to help offenders, contributes more to mass incarceration
[usatoday.com – 11/19/20] Justice officials are recognizing that community supervision can be a tripwire that perpetuates incarceration based on crimeless technical violations Miriam Aroni Krinsky and Vincent Schiraldi Opinion contributors One of the first people to die of COVID-19 in New York City’s notorious Rikers Island jail system was Raymond Rivera — a 55-year-old father and husband who lost his life in April. The “offense” that ultimately resulted in a death sentence for Rivera? Leaving a drug program without permission — a minor technical violation of the parole he was on for stealing a motorcycle…
Read MoreKY: A third Louisville police officer has pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor in Explorer program
[wdrb.com – 11/16/20] LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A third Louisville Metro Police officer has pleaded guilty to sexual abusing a minor while serving as a mentor in the department’s youth Explorer program. Former Officer Brad ____ faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court on Monday to a misdemeanor charge of sexual abuse. ____ , who resigned from the department earlier this month, will be sentenced March 10, and prosecutors indicated they would recommend six months incarceration. The judge will…
Read MoreAR: Cop kills dog during sex offender compliance check at wrong home
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 11/17/20] Officer James Freeman of Greenbrier, Arkansas was doing a sex offender compliance check on private property when the homeowner’s dog barked at him. So Freeman shot the dog. Read the full article and watch the video
Read MoreNIJ: Tracking Sex Offenders: Federal Law, Resources Have Led to Marked Improvement of State Registries, But More Work Is Needed
[nij.ojp.gov – 11/13/20] Communities want to know when convicted sex offenders are living in their midst. For a quarter century, federal law has guaranteed communities the right to know. In 1994, Congress mandated that all states develop sex offender registries. Two years later, Megan’s Law provided that sex offender information must be made public. In the ensuing decade, sex offender laws and registries sprang up in all states — but not always with the full impact intended. In some instances, technology deficits limited information sharing across registries and jurisdictions, a…
Read MoreFL: Disney World Vacation Leads to Fight Over Florida Sex Offender Law
[wjno.iheart.com – 11/10/20] TALLAHASSEE — A Pennsylvania man has filed a challenge to a Florida law that has kept him on a sexual-offender registry after a 10-day family vacation to Disney World in 2015. The man, identified in court documents as John Doe, reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office when he came to Florida because he was on a Pennsylvania registry at the time as a result of a child-pornography conviction in 2002. Doe was removed from the Pennsylvania registry in 2016 but has remained registered as a sex…
Read MoreNH: ‘Hellhole’ dad on track to get 15-year prison sentence vacated
A clerical error will likely upend a guilty plea that sent a Manchester father to prison for 15 years for the abuse of his two young children in what police described at the time as a hellhole, according to court documents. … The issue: ____ wasn’t informed that once his 15- to 30-year sentence is completed, he will have to register as a child offender. The defense lawyer who handled his original case, Paul Garrity, has said he was not aware that adults convicted of serious harm against children land…
Read MoreIL: Name Change for Transgender Sex Offender Debated at Seventh Circuit
[courthousenews.com – 11/6/20] CHICAGO (CN) — A Seventh Circuit panel heard arguments Friday over whether a Wisconsin law barring convicted sex offenders from changing their name amounts to free speech infringement. The underlying lawsuit was brought in Milwaukee federal court in May 2019 by Karen Krebs, a transgender woman from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who cannot change her name due to a 1992 conviction which required her to register as a sex offender. Wisconsin law makes it a Class H felony for anyone who is required to register as a sex offender…
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