[beaconjournal.com – 11/4/20] When Norton resident Charles Fowler discovered he had a Barberton tenant with a criminal record that included rape living at one of his rental properties, he knew he had a problem. For one, there was a nationwide moratorium on evictions. The ban was first passed by Congress earlier this year as a response to rising unemployment during the coronavirus pandemic. That ban expired, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order extending it until Dec. 31. .. He contacted U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez’s…
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OK: Sex-Offense Registry Sweeps Intended to Boost Support for Cops Unwittingly Spread COVID-19
[shadowproof.com – 11/2/20] The Oklahoma City Police Department pulled off a social media coup on July 7. “Meet the top 10 most wanted individuals being sought by our Sex Offender Registration Unit,” the department posted on its Facebook page. “It’s important we keep tabs on these guys (and gal), so help us find them.” The post engaged a huge number of readers, receiving 1,500 shares and nearly 500 comments. Told dangerous people were loose on city streets, readers responded. “[She] works at [a local store] I’m fucking sick!” posted one.…
Read MoreIL: Ex-teaching assistant gets probation for sexually abusing 14-year-old student
[news-gazette.com – 10/30/20] URBANA — A 24-year-old woman who admitted having sex with a teenage boy for whom she acted as a teaching assistant has been sentenced to four years of probation. Judge Roger Webber said Friday he did not believe Allyssa Gustafson, who had no prior criminal convictions, was a danger to the public. However, he said the requirement that she register as a sex offender for life — “the modern-day equivalent of the scarlet letter” — would serve to punish her. Read the full article
Read MoreIL: A Veteran Cook County Judge Has Been Repeatedly Blocked from Hearing Sex Offense Cases. Here’s Why.
[bettergov.org – 10/22/20] A Chicago teenager pleaded with Cook County Judge James Linn to impose the maximum prison sentence on the man who sexually assaulted her and her two sisters for several years and threatened to kill them if they told anyone. “Help us ensure that there will be one less rapist out on the streets,” the woman, then 19, wrote in a victim impact statement read aloud at the sentencing hearing in May 2011. “At the end of the day, I just want justice to be served the correct…
Read MorePA: Appellate Court finds registration violates right to reputation under Pennsylvania Constitution in as applied case
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 10/23/20] Before you get too excited, this is an as-applied case, meaning the decision only benefits the person challenging and not everyone on the Pennsylvania registry, but it’s a win nonetheless, and a win on a novel argument, so it’s good news. A Pennsylvania intermediate court found that SORNA violates an individual’s right to reputation under Article I, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution by creating an irrebuttable presumption that she poses a high risk of committing additional sexual offenses. The law says, “[s]exual offenders pose a high…
Read MoreWilliams Institute report : Over 6,000 people are civilly committed in the US
[williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu – 10/2020] Black men and men with male victims are more likely to be committed Twenty states, the federal government, and D.C. have laws that allow for the indefinite detention of sex offenders designated as a “Sexually Violent Person” or “Sexually Violent Predator” (SVP) beyond the term of their incarceration. This report explores the implications civil commitment laws have for Black and sexual minority communities. In the 1990s and 2000s, federal lawmakers and legislators in 20 states and the District of Columbia passed laws that allow for the detention…
Read MoreTN: Operation Blackout To Crack Down On Sex Offenders During Halloween Season
[radionwtn.com – 10/20/20] The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is responsible for the supervision of more than 3,800 registered sex offenders. TDOC’s mission is to enhance public safety for all Tennesseans including our most vulnerable citizens – our children. That’s why the department launches a special operation this time of year called, Operation Blackout. According to Assistant Commissioner of Community Supervision Lisa Helton, “Operation Blackout provides all registered sex offenders under the supervision of the Tennessee Department of Correction with additional restrictions during a time when families and children might be…
Read MoreLA: Court strikes Louisiana’s ‘Sex Offender’ ID requirement
[startribune.com – 10/20/20] NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana’s requirement that people convicted of certain sex crimes carry a state-issued ID card with the words “SEX OFFENDER” printed on it in orange capital letters is unconstitutional, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. The 6-1 ruling upholds a decision by a state judge in Lafayette who last year threw out a charge filed against a man who altered his card to remove the label. State attorneys had argued that the state had a legitimate interest in having the information on the ID card:…
Read MoreIA: New tool to monitor registrants: License Plate Reader Contract Approved in Davenport, Iowa
[ govtech.com 10/15/20] While the devices are touted as investigative tools — helping to locate stolen cars, missing persons and the like — privacy and civil rights advocates say the technology also raises concerns around misuse and surveillance. (TNS) — Davenport City Council members on Wednesday unanimously approved a contract that will give Davenport police an enhanced tool for tracking stolen vehicles, wanted criminals and abducted children. The little-noticed, high-speed cameras mounted on police cars, road signs, bridges and poles photograph thousands of plates per minute. The devices convert each…
Read MoreACSOL and Allies Submit Formal Response to Proposed SORNA Regulations
[ACSOL] Today 10 legal professionals from six different states submitted a formal response to the U.S. Department of Justice regarding proposed SORNA regulations that could adversely affect the daily lives of almost one million people required to register as a sex offender. The response is 36 pages long and includes a request that the federal agency issue revised regulations and allow for additional comments from the public in the future. “ACSOL and its allies have prepared a comprehensive response to the proposed SORNA regulations,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. …
Read MoreNY: Appeals Court hearing oral arguments online Oct 13 on continued detention of former sex offenders after release
[nycourts.gov] These appeals were filed by level three sex offenders to challenge their indefinite detention in prison or prison-based residential treatment facilities (RTFs) after their prison terms expired or they were granted parole. All three offenders were subject to post-release supervision (PRS) and were held past their release dates by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) when they were unable to find housing that complied with the Sexual Assault Reform Act (SARA), which bars certain sex offenders from residing within 1,000 feet of any school grounds (Executive Law…
Read MoreFL: Reentry Task Forces Recommends a Stop to Residency Restrictions for Sex Offenders
[from the last page] We affirm the findings of the OPPAGA that “many studies have established that sex offenders who maintain stable employment, housing and family relationships have significantly lower recidivism rates” as well as the numerous studies which conclude that SORRs undermine successful reentry of returning citizens, while doing nothing to promote public safety. For that reason, we make the following recommendations: 1) Legislation should be enacted that would pre-empt the patchwork of county and city SORR ordinances in favor of the State’s SORR Statute (F.S. §775.215). 2) Counties…
Read MoreTX: Beeville optometrist (!) appointed by Gov. Abbott to Texas sex offender treatment council
[caller.com – 10/1/20] AUSTIN – Beeville optometrist Elizabeth Perez Aliseda has been appointed to the Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment by Gov. Greg Abbott. Aliseda owns Mira Vision Boutique in Beeville. She is also a member of the Texas Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association and a former president of the Coastal Bend College Foundation and the Beeville Rotary Club. Read more about this appointment of an optometrist who will manage sex offender treatment
Read MoreAssociation for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) Report concludes SORNA does not achieve its goals
[atsa.com – 10/1/20] PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER [from the web page]: Registration and community notification with international adoption of these policies expanding to other countries in subsequent years. Federal and local laws in the U.S. and other Western countries require persons who have been convicted of a sexual crime to register their living location and other personal information with a local law enforcement agency on a regular basis. This requirement varies in its duration, but in many cases can continue for the rest of the registrant’s life. For the majority…
Read MoreSCOTUS: Petition Maryland v. Rogers
Maryland v. Rogers addresses whether sex offender registration is “punishment” within the meaning of the Sixth and 14th Amendments. Jimmie Rogers pleaded guilty to a Maryland criminal law that provides that a person may not knowingly “take or cause another to be taken to any place for prostitution.” Because the victim’s age was not an element of the offense, the prosecution did not present evidence of her age. However, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services determined that the victim was a minor. After Rogers’ release from prison,…
Read MoreID: Idaho man sues over state’s anti-sodomy law
[ap.org – 9/24/20] BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho man represented by a coalition of civil rights attorneys is suing the state’s attorney general over Idaho’s so-called “infamous crime against nature” law, which makes it illegal to have oral or anal sex. The man, who uses the pseudonym “John Doe,” filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Wednesday, saying his constitutional rights were violated when he was forced to register as a sex offender earlier this year because he was convicted in another state more than two decades ago…
Read MoreFL: Wakulla County to pay $160,000 to settle lawsuit with City Walk Urban Mission
[wtxl.com – 9/22/20] WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — A federal court in Tallahassee has ruled that City Walk Urban Mission can again operate in Wakulla County and can open up three other transition homes within the county. Tuesday, the court approved a settlement between the organization and the county. The county agreed to settle the case for $160,000. In addition to the $160,000 Wakulla County agreed to pay to settle, the county also agreed to allow City Walk to establish up to three other transition homes in the county. City…
Read MoreTX: Proposal to Bar Ex-criminals from Affordable Housing in Texas Called Unfair
[reformaustin.org – 9/22/20] Under draft rules being considered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, anyone on the sex offender registry or those with drug manufacturing convictions would be permanently barred from state-supported housing. Others with violent felony convictions would be banned for three years, nonviolent felony offenders would be excluded for two years, and Class A misdemeanor offenses would result in a one-year ban. The possible new rules first reported on by the Houston Chronicle are opposed by fair housing advocates. “This will have a disastrous impact…
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