Source: newjerseymonitor.com 4/14/26 Ongoing lawsuits filed by people who say they were sexually abused as children while in juvenile detention centers, foster care, and other state-supervised placements could cost New Jersey at least $340 million, judging by past payouts. The state has already shelled out tens of millions of dollars to resolve such claims, with the median cost of the settlements at $975,000 as of March, according to budget documents. Two past lawsuits over sex abuse children endured in foster homes decades ago cost the state almost $19 million alone in 2024.…
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NY: Fearmongering NY Post pushes residency restrictions myth to create homeless registrants
Source: nypost.com 4/19/26 Ex-hotel still houses sex offenders near NYC playground after bombshell report — and nearby shelter is now following suit A converted hotel next to a Chinatown playground is still housing violent sex offenders a full 10 months after The Post blew the whistle — and now a second Manhattan shelter is doing the same thing. At least two registered sex offenders exposed in a July 5 report — including a level 3 offender, the highest risk — are still calling the former Hotel MB building at 61 Chrystie…
Read MoreOR: Lane County class-action suit challenges Oregon’s sex offender registry risk classification
Source: statesmanjournal.com 4/14/26 A class action lawsuit filed in Lane County on April 2 against the Oregon State Police and the Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision alleges individuals on Oregon’s sex offender registry have been systematically misclassified as a higher risk than they are. The plaintiff in the case, identified in court documents only as M.H., claims to be one of those people. In January 1990, he was convicted on three counts of first-degree sexual abuse in the Lane County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to incarceration and supervision, which he…
Read MoreIL: Investigations No Trial. No Guilty Verdict. How Civil Commitment in Illinois Can Mean Decades Behind Bars
Source: news.wttw.com 4/14/26 Under two different Illinois laws, people charged with sex offenses are subject to indefinite detention. More than 500 people are currently being held under the procedure known as civil commitment. This story explores the law that holds people who’ve only been charged with a crime — never convicted or sentenced. WTTW News also examined the law that continues to hold people after they’ve served their sentences, sometimes for decades. James Howe was never found guilty. But he still spent nine years inside of Big Muddy River Correctional Center.…
Read MoreLA: Backwards Louisiana forces surgical castration as part of sentence
Source: thenationaldesk.com 4/12/26 BOSSIER PARISH, La. (WKRC) – A Bossier City man was sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to a sex offense involving a child family member, according to the Bossier Parish District Court. Zachary ______, 40, entered a guilty plea April 6 to aggravated crimes against nature, according to the district attorney’s office. His sentence includes mandatory castration under Louisiana law, reports Bossier Press-Tribune. … “My office is committed to prosecuting the predators that victimize children and will work hand-in-hand with our partners in law…
Read MoreNY: Residency restrictions force registrants into motels, which causes complaints by homeless families
Source: spectrumlocalnews.com 4/7/26 As New York increasingly relies on hotels to house families experiencing homelessness, a Spectrum News 1 review found in some counties those families may live next door to registered level two and level three sex offenders. Broome County, in the Southern Tier, was found to have three hotels in such a situation. Through a Freedom of Information Law request, Spectrum News 1 used payment records from the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to confirm which hotels Broome County uses as temporary housing for families. In comparing the hotel address with publicly available addresses of registered sex offenders, as of March 31, four registered sex offenders are living at the Knights Inn in Endicott. New York…
Read MoreFL: DeSantis tells Florida House to impeach Tallahassee judge who released sex offender on bond
Source: floridaphoenix.com 3/31/26 Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling on the Florida House to impeach a Tallahassee judge who briefly released a sex offender onto the streets, resulting in the killing of the man’s 5-year-old stepdaughter. “To my friends in the Florida House of Representatives, I don’t think what you’ve done is enough,” DeSantis said during a Tampa press conference on Tuesday. “You have the power, and you have sufficient numbers in your chamber, to impeach this judge, Tiffany Baker-Carper. “Until you start holding these judges accountable, they are gonna continue…
Read MoreFL: DeSantis signs Missy’s law requiring bond revocation for convicted offenders
Source: mysuncoast.com 3/31/26 SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two Florida bills aimed at increasing penalties in child sexual abuse cases and requiring custody for certain convicted defendants before sentencing. Speaking at the Tampa Bay Regional Operational Center at FDLE, DeSantis said the laws are meant to strengthen protections for children and prevent offenders from remaining free after conviction. One of the measures, House Bill 445, is known as “Missy’s Law.” DeSantis said the bill requires judges to remand certain convicted defendants to custody pending sentencing. DeSantis tied…
Read MoreFL: Florida’s new sex offender registrant restrictions will not improve public safety
Source: reason.org 4/30/26 Making it impossible for people to find a place to live after serving their sentences is harsh and counterproductive to preventing further crimes. Florida lawmakers are preparing to add new restrictions on where certain registered sex offenders are allowed to live, blocking them from housing near public pools, which include splash pads and a variety of water recreation attractions. While presented as a way of protecting children from predators, in truth, these new rules would push registrants farther into the shadows, into homelessness, and in some…
Read MoreOR: Oregon Supreme Court reverses child sex abuse conviction on privacy grounds
Source: philomathnews.com 3/29/26 The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a Lane County man’s conviction for encouraging child sex abuse, ruling that local authorities subjected him to a warrantless search when monitoring his use of a restaurant’s free wireless internet network. In 2018 and 2019, Oakridge resident Randall De Witt Simons had accessed an A&W restaurant’s wireless internet network which extended into the range of his own home in Lane County. The network required a terms of service agreement, which noted that the restaurant chain may cooperate with legal authorities…
Read MoreUT: Utah Court of Appeals Upholds Dismissal of Child Sexual Abuse Accusations
Source: reason.com 3/25/26 An excerpt from the detailed discussion in State v. Murphy, decided Thursday by the Utah Court of Appeals (Judge David Mortensen, joined by Judges Gregory Orme and Ryan Harris): … Murphy was charged with aggravated sexual abuse and sodomy on a child for incidents that had occurred many years prior involving the son (Jonathan) of one of Murphy’s former close friends (Mother). The magistrate, citing lack of evidence at a preliminary hearing to establish probable cause that Murphy committed the alleged abuse, declined to bind Murphy over for…
Read MorePA: Two boys made deepfake porn of 60 girls. It left a school, small town reeling
Source: usatoday.com 3/23/26 LANCASTER, PA – It’s hard to describe the city of Lancaster as anything other than quaint. Its vibrant but small downtown is peppered with coffee shops, bookstores and friendly locals. It has charm in abundance. The same can be said for the upscale Lancaster Country Day School, a K-12 private school in the area that hosts just over 600 kids. They frolic around in matching uniforms and play on crisp green grass once school lets out. Perhaps that’s why the AI-generated sexual abuse scandal that recently rocked this town…
Read MoreOH: Commentary: This Middleburg Heights law targets ‘violent’ offenders. Here’s why it will fail
Source: cleveland.com 3/16/26 CLEVELAND, Ohio — Let me start with an uncomfortable disclaimer: This column is going to poke holes in a policy that its supporters say was designed to protect children. I understand why that makes people uneasy. When lawmakers say they’re acting to keep kids safe, most of us want to believe the solution must be a good one. But public safety policy shouldn’t be judged by its intentions. It should be judged by whether it actually works. Let’s consider a recent ordinance passed by Middleburg Heights City…
Read MoreFL: Child predators, AI abuse material penalties getting harsher in Florida
Source: tallahassee.com 3/10/26 Florida lawmakers passed a bill to increase penalties for child sexual abuse crimes. The bill also targets AI-generated child sexual abuse material, making its creation and transmission a second-degree felony. It replaces the term “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” in state law. Florida lawmakers want to crack down on child sexual predators and AI child sex images or video. A sweeping bill approved Monday, March 8, by the Senate and approved by the House last week would dramatically increase penalties for child sex crimes and…
Read MoreNC: Ex-inmate buys prison to offer housing and job training for others
Source: goodnewsinstead.com At just 18, Kerwin Pittman found himself facing the challenges of life behind bars due to a conspiracy to commit murder. However, after spending 11 and a half years incarcerated, including a year in solitary confinement, he emerged with a renewed sense of purpose. Now, eight years after his release, he is making history as the first former inmate to purchase a prison in the United States. Following his release, Pittman dedicated himself to advocating for social justice, establishing the Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services, Inc. (RREPS), a…
Read MoreWA: Proposed registered sex offender housing site in Kennewick vandalized again
Source: nbcrightnow.com 3/2/26 KENNEWICK, Wash. – The site of the proposed less restrictive alternative (LRA) housing facility for registered sex offenders in Kennewick was vandalized overnight on Monday, according to Kennewick Police Department officer Jair Ealy-Thomas. The site, on West 8th Avenue, has been the source of controversy in recent weeks and faced opposition from the Kennewick City Council and Kennewick School District. Watch the video
Read MoreFL: Bill upping prison time for child sexual predators heading to Senate floor
Source: floridapolitics.com 3/2/26 The legislation comes as Attorney General James Uthmeier has stepped up action against child sexual predators. A bill designed to increase prison sentences for child sex offenders is now heading to the Senate floor. The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee has advanced the measure, completing the Committee review process in the upper chamber. “This bill increases penalties and creates mandatory prison sentences for the most serious sex crimes, especially those involving children,” said Sen. Jonathan Martin, a Fort Myers Republican who sponsored the bill (SB 1750). “This deals with child pornography…
Read MoreGA: Georgia “One Strike Act”: Even More Life Sentences, Even Less Parole
Source: filtermag.org 3/2/26 In late February, senators in Georgia introduced a bill known as the One Strike Act. Though the name—a riff of sorts on the better-known “three strikes” approach—and marketing imply mandatory life sentences on first-time convictions of the most serious felonies, the bill is primarily about lengthening sentences and removing parole for any and all felonies. Senate Bill 592 is cosponsored by State Senator Steve Gooch (R), a former senate majority leader and current candidate for lieutenant governor. Gooch, a noted proponent of mass incarceration, was also a cosponsor…
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