[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/13/19] The Seattle Police Department, along with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, say they arrested five people and “rescued 26 victims of sex trafficking” earlier this month during raids of nearly a dozen businesses in the Chinatown-International and Beacon Hill districts. The Seattle Times broke the story last Friday, reporting that the owners of these so-called “massage parlors” were illegally selling sex acts and are suspected of recruiting women, mostly Chinese nationals, to come to the U.S. to work in them. Nearly 200 law enforcement officers…
Read MoreCategory: National
36 Years In An Illinois Prison Without a Conviction or Sentence
[wbez.org – 3/7/19] In 1982, Terry Allen was charged with sexual assault, but prosecutors offered him what seemed like a way out. No time in prison. No criminal conviction. So Allen went along with it. “At the time, I thought, well that’s a good deal, and I’ll get right on out,” Allen said. “I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.” Allen never faced criminal trial on the sexual assault charges. He was never convicted or sentenced for the alleged crime, but has nonetheless spent almost four decades behind…
Read MoreChurches Under Fire for Allowing Sex Offenders to Attend Services
[pjmedia.com – 3/7/19] Several churches within the Churches of Christ denomination have come under fire for allowing sex offenders to attend services. Critics accuse those churches of failing to care for the victims. Defenders claim that those who are truly repentant should not be turned away. Most likely, this is a debate that is going to find its way into all denominations because the problem of sexual abuse is baring its ugly soul across denominational lines. The sexual abuse of minors is especially heinous. There is something about the betrayal…
Read MoreSouthern Baptist Convention: What’s wrong with the proposed sexual abuse amendment to the SBC constitution
[baptistnews.com – 3/8/19] The Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee has proposed an amendment to the SBC constitution that would allow for churches to be disfellowshipped when they are determined to have “evidenced indifference in addressing sexual abuse.” Sounds good, right? But take a closer look. The amendment sets forth four examples of conduct the committee can consider as evidence of church indifference: (a) employing a convicted sex offender, (b) allowing a convicted sex offender to work as a volunteer in contact with minors, (c) continuing to employ a person who…
Read MoreWA: House Passes Responsible Teen Communications Act
[seattlemedium.com – 3/6/19] OLYMPIA – On Monday, the Washington State House of Representatives passed House Bill 1742 on a bipartisan vote of 57-39. The Responsible Teen Communications Act, sponsored by Rep. Noel Frame (D-Seattle), updates Washington’s laws to reflect current technology, and ensure minors sharing sexually explicit images or videos of themselves with their peers (commonly known was “sexting”) are not automatically charged with a felony sex offense and forced to register as a sex offender. According to a recent study, more than one in four teenagers report having received…
Read MoreFL: Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Proves Inescapable
It was the kind of headline guaranteed to generate clicks even over the winter holidays and amid a federal government shutdown: “Number of Sex Offenders Living in Florida Is Growing,” warned the Associated Press. In December, the Florida legislative auditor’s office released a report noting that the number of people on the state’s sex offender registry had expanded 53 percent since 2005, to about 73,000. But the report also contains this detail: 60 percent of those on the list live out of state, are in prison, or have been deported—up…
Read MoreGA: Georgia Court blocks lifelong GPS tracking of sex offenders
[thebrunswicknews.com – 3/4/19] Georgia’s highest court says it’s unconstitutional to require “sexually dangerous predators” to remain on electronic GPS monitoring after completing their sentences. The unanimous Georgia Supreme Court opinion published Monday says that violates the Fourth Amendment protection against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Read more
Read MoreIN: Amendment bars sex offender from son’s school activities
A registered sex offender previously able to attend his son’s school activities per a trial court-granted request was denied that exception Monday when the Indiana Court of Appeals determined an amended statute barred him from entering school property. Full Article Article
Read MorePA: SORNA Registration Equal to Being “In Custody”
For a federal court to consider a habeas petition, the petitioner must be “in custody” at the time the petition is filed. Past cases have found custody to include parole restrictions, own-recognizance release pending appeal, and community service obligations. Today, the Third Circuit held that the requirements that come with registration under Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act satisfy the habeas custody requirement because SORNA restricts registrants’ physical liberty in various ways, including banning computer internet access and requiring them to appear frequently at a state police barracks, in…
Read MoreOK: Police Investigating After Registered Sex Offender Killed In Pottawatomie County
[news9.com – 2/26/19] POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Oklahoma – The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal shooting near Macomb. A gunshot victim, 60-year-old Harry L. Venosdel Jr., was found around 5 p.m. Sunday, February 24, at his home located off White Oaks Lane. Venosdel Jr. was discovered by others who live on the same plot of land. 911 Caller: “I just got home and found him dead laying out in front of his trailer.” 911 Caller: “He’s lying there, his eyes are kind of hazy, stiff, and cold…” Before detectives…
Read MoreAR: 6 new Arkansas sex offense bills including Halloween, grooming, positions of public trust, recording minors
[state.ar.us – 2/26/19] Click on each of these bills to read the details: SB 10: Prohibiting a registered sex offender from participating in certain Halloween-related activities. HB 1279: To amend the offense of sexually grooming a child. SB 183: To prohibit certain registered sex offenders from holding a position of public trust. SB 8: To prohibit a registered sex offender from recording a person under fourteen (14) years of age in certain circumstances; and to prohibit the unlawful use of a recording of a person under fourteen (14) years…
Read MoreME: Law would ban sex offenders from some multi-unit buildings, houses in Maine
[wmtw.com – 2/25/19] UGUSTA, Maine — A proposal at the Maine State House would add living restrictions to Maine’s sex offender law. The bill would ban a convicted sex offender from living in a multiunit building that shares an entrance with a unit occupied by a minor. Specifically, a sex offender who committed a crime against someone under the age of 14 would be banned from living in a multiunit building with a shared entrance with a person under 18. Maine law requires a sex offender who committed an offense…
Read MoreFL: Powerful lobbyist Ron Book arrested on DUI charges
[tallahassee.com – 2/25/19] Ron Book, one of Florida’s most influential lobbyists who also represents the city of Tallahassee, has been arrested on DUI-related charges in Broward County, several South Florida news outlets have reported. Book, 66, was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol Sunday after crashing his Lamborghini near his house, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He was charged with a first-time DUI, refusing to submit to a DUI test and DUI with damage to a person or property, the paper reported. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Book was released…
Read MoreMO: Bill aims to track sex offenders when moving
A new bill making its way through the Missouri House is seeking to track some of the state’s most dangerous sex offenders when moving between counties. Sponsored by Missouri Rep. Randy Pietzman of Troy, Missouri, House Bill No. 2653 would require offenders who have been convicted of first-degree child molestation to wear an electronic monitoring device. “I come from a district that is kind of plagued with sex offenders,” Pietzman said. “I was looking for some kind of an avenue to bring attention to it.” Full Article
Read MoreU.S. Marshalls: Citizens can provide leads and tips on non-compliant registrants
[usmarshals.gov] The frightening aspect involves reporting of non-compliant sex offenders. There are so many things wrong with this. First it perpetuates the myth that former sex offenders represent a heightened danger. Also, people are free to report what they, as untrained private citizens, consider to be non-compliance. Any unsubstantiated report of a technical violation of registration requirements will cause considerable discomfort to a registered citizen. If that person happens to still be under supervision, the report will quite likely result in at least temporary jail time, until an investigation is…
Read MoreOR: Parole board requests bill to eliminate sex offender reclassification deadline
A local mom and alleged sexual assault survivors blasted a bill Friday that would get rid of the state’s deadline for reclassifying sex offenders. “It’s important to do it in a timely manner because it’s in the interest of public safety and this is what people wanted,” Christine VanOrder, a mother and activist, told KATU Friday. Full Article
Read MoreAR: Senate votes 27-1 for sex-offender bill
[arkansasonline.com – 2/22/19] The Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would allow people convicted of sex offenses not to register with the state if their victim was under age 18 and the offender was no more than three years older, under certain conditions. Read more
Read MoreNY: Statement on Landmark Appellate Decision Limiting the Reach of SORA Residency Restrictions
[legalaidnyc.org – 2/21/19] The Legal Aid Society applauded a ruling rendered today by the New York State Appellate Division – Third Department, rejecting the New York State Department of Correction and Community Supervision’s (DOCCS) interpretation of the statutory residency restrictions faced by individuals with prior sex offense convictions. Specifically, the court held that people whose sex offense sentences had already expired were not subject to the law’s harsh mandatory residency restrictions when they were released to parole following a subsequent non-sex offense conviction. The ruling represents the first such limitation…
Read More