Source: courthousenews.com 4/23/25 The appellate panel said prohibiting parents who have been convicted of sex offenses from cohabitating with their minor children violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Alabama cannot completely prohibit convicted sex offenders from cohabitating with minors, according to an 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday. After being convicted of one count of possession of child pornography in 2013 and serving his sentence for the crime, Bruce Henry married and his wife gave birth to a son, but state law prohibits sex offenders from residing together or…
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TX: Texas city passes residency restriction to banish registrants
Source: abc7amarillo.com 4/23/25 HEREFORD, Texas (KVII) — The Hereford City Commission has enacted a new ordinance that restricts where registered sex offenders can reside, prohibiting them from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks, pools, arcades, movie theatres, and other areas where children gather. The ordinance, passed on Monday, imposes a fine of up to $500 per day for violations. Chief Landon Swan of the Hereford Police Department explained the rationale behind the ordinance, stating, “What we’ve found is if we utilize all these different locations with the 2,000-foot radius, it actually…
Read MoreMO: Missouri bill to void NDAs in child sex abuse cases approved by House
Source: missouriindependent.com 4/22/25 Legislation that would void non-disclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases received unanimous approval from Missouri’s House on Tuesday afternoon. The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Brian Seitz from Branson, now heads to the Missouri Senate. Non-disclosure agreements are “legal mechanisms that were created to protect trade secrets, not trauma secrets,” Seitz said last week during House debate. “We must clarify the law on use of the NDAs in civil child sexual abuse settlements, so that survivors of such horrors who already feel shamed and silenced are also not…
Read MoreIL: Nowhere to go People with sex offense convictions struggle to find housing in Illinois.
Source: chicagoreader.com 4/23/25 ll Ed Cetwinski could think was, “God, I’m out of prison. I can live my life a little bit.” He had just been released from Taylorville Correctional Center after five years behind bars. But even though he’s free from his prison cell, he’s still not free. Most criminal convictions in Illinois include a period of mandatory supervised release (MSR). It’s like parole, but it’s served as part of a prison sentence rather than in lieu of it. People on MSR must adhere to a litany of conditions,…
Read MoreFL: ‘Not welcome here’: Clewiston passes law to keep sex offenders farther away from schools
Source: fox4now.com 4/22/25 CLEWISTON, Fla. — Clewiston passed a new ordinance to push sex offenders farther away from schools. On Monday, city council passed an ordinance requiring sex offenders to live at least 2,500 feet from schools, parks, and playgrounds. Until now, offenders only had to live 1,000 feet away – the minimum state requirement. Clewiston Police Chief Tom Lewis said the city needed to act after seeing more offenders move in – taking advantage of Clewiston’s less strict rules. He said this change brings Clewiston in line with nearby…
Read MoreIN: New Indiana law tightens restrictions on sex offender relocation
Source: wfft.com 4/21/25 An Indiana bill aimed at strengthening safeguards on where sex offenders can live has been signed into law by the governor. The legislation was authored by state Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn. House Enrolled Act 1687 reinforces probation requirements for sex offenders who want to move to another county. It also adds new factors for judges to consider before approving a relocation. Those factors include whether the offender has close family ties—such as a spouse, parent, or adult child—in the area, along with stable housing and employment opportunities.…
Read MoreMN: More sex offenders reside in Brooklyn Park than other suburbs. The city may limit where they live.
Source: startribune.com 4/20/25 Officials question whether residency restrictions in other cities are pushing more registered offenders to Brooklyn Park. Matt Rabe, an inspector with the Brooklyn Park Police Department, answered a call that sparked a lot of questions. Rabe said the caller was trying to place a registered predatory offender in Brooklyn Park after a neighboring suburb had turned them down due to their city’s residency restrictions. Brooklyn Park doesn’t have an ordinance limiting where convicted sex offenders are allowed to live, but is surrounded by suburbs that do. The…
Read MoreFL: USF Reports Residency Restrictions Ineffective
Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 4/13/25 FAC came across the following presentation on a study from the University of South Florida, showing the effects of residency restrictions in Tampa, Florida. The conclusions were that residency restrictions have been ineffective. In fact, recidivism and the number of sexual crimes increased following their implementation. The topic is introduced at 1:09:20 and goes to 2:02:30 Read the report on the FAC website
Read MoreMO: Amid Calls to Reform Bail, Judges in St. Louis Embrace Ankle Monitors
Source: nytimes.com 4/10/25 Proponents say the devices have helped address inequities in the criminal justice system. But many defendants have experienced unintended consequences. In the heat of an argument last spring, Khyla Mason raised a handgun into the air on a neighbor’s porch. She was acting in self-defense, she said, and never fired, but the confrontation was captured on video, and some children were nearby. Ms. Mason wound up in a St. Louis jail charged with unlawful use of a weapon. Just a few years ago, someone facing the same…
Read MoreCO: Denver police to review 422 sex assault cases handled by discredited CBI scientist Missy Woods
Source: denverpost.com 4/7/25 The Denver Police Department will independently review more than 400 sex assault cases handled by now-discredited Colorado Bureau of Investigation scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods to ensure the DNA testing was valid. The police department’s crime laboratory started a process to review the reports from at least 422 sexual assault evidence kits that Denver police submitted to CBI for DNA testing over the last 12 years, spokesman Doug Schepman said in a statement Friday. From that initial review, the lab will determine how many kits should be re-tested, he said.…
Read MoreMD: lawmakers pass bill to limit future liabilities amid thousands of claims of sexual abuse
Source: thedailyrecord.com 4/7/25 ANNAPOLIS — Maryland lawmakers passed a measure Saturday to try to limit future liabilities from claims of sexual abuse at state and private institutions after thousands of people unexpectedly came forward with allegations of abuse, many of them in youth detention centers, putting potentially billions of dollars at stake for the state. The wave of cases targeting the state’s juvenile justice system resulted after Maryland eliminated the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims two years ago with the Catholic Church abuse scandal in mind. The measure, which now goes…
Read MorePA: Pennsylvania woman who wrongfully accused stranger of rape and kidnapping is sentenced to jail
Source: nypost.com 4/3/25 A Pennsylvania woman who admitted to fabricating kidnapping and rape allegations against a stranger whom she “specifically targeted” because she thought he was “creepy” last year is paying for her lies. Anjela Borisova Urumova, 20, was sentenced to from 45 days to 23 months in Bucks County Correctional Facility on Tuesday by Judge Stephen A. Corr, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. She was also sentenced to one year of probation, ordered to have no contact with the victim, pay him $3,600 in restitution, and is required to undergo…
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