[ACSOL] Members of the American Law Institute (ALI), the most important and prestigious organization of legal scholars and prominent attorneys in the nation, will consider a proposal next week that could significantly change the nation’s sex offender laws. The most significant of those changes would be the elimination of public registries in all 50 state. The proposal also includes, but is not limited to, recommendations to abolish all public notification laws as well as most residency restrictions, internet restrictions and GPS location monitoring. “The ALI drafts model laws that often…
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IA: Audit says employee at Iowa sex offense treatment unit falsified husband’s work hours to collect more than $50,000
[msn.com – 6/2/21] Iowa’s sex offense treatment facility is facing questions over falsified time card records said to have netted an employee and her husband more than $52,000 in unearned income. For more than a year, the administrative assistant manipulated records to show her husband — a part-time employee of the facility — was working at times he wasn’t, according to an investigation released Wednesday by the state auditor’s office. Over about 18 months, Renae Rapp was able to orchestrate at least $52,618.19 in excessive pay for her husband, Adam,…
Read MoreWI: Judge rules 2nd person listed on registry cannot be housed near Salem Lakes parks
[cbs58.com – 6/1/21] SALEM LAKES, Wis. (CBS 58) — Salem Lakes residents are finally feeling at ease. On Tuesday, June 1, a Kenosha County judge ruled against housing a person listed on the registry in their backyard. The courtroom was packed and testimony was tense, but ultimately, the judge ruled Dale Peshek cannot live on Camp Lake Road. Another hearing ended, still with no home for the person convicted of a sex offense, who appeared in court by video. Read the full article
Read MoreShould CA Release 76K Inmates Early? Patch Readers Weigh In
[patch.com – 6/1/21] CALIFORNIA — The Golden State could give 76,000 inmates — including violent and repeat felons — an opportunity to exit prison early if they exhibited “good conduct.” The state hoped to further trim its prison population in what was once the nation’s largest state correctional system. That decision has drawn ire from 44 district attorneys across the state. They filed a civil lawsuit last week against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to stop the correction system from awarding “good conduct” credits to the 76,000 state…
Read MoreFL: Civilian sex stings aim at ‘street justice’
[yoursun.com – 6/1/21] For about as long as there have been children, … … Now some civilian groups are taking matters into their own hands. Sarasota resident Lee Bassett runs a Facebook page called Southwest Florida Exposures. … That was the first of Bassett’s online stings that resulted in an arrest. Law enforcement disapproves Despite Bassett contributing to the arrest of Allen, law enforcement generally discourages undercover civilian operations. Officers say it can detract from real justice with real consequences. … Because of a lack of legal consequences, the civilian…
Read MoreNY: My Parishioner Was Not Sentenced to Death. He Still Died.
By Steven Paulikas, Mr. Paulikas is an Episcopal priest. Witnessing unwarranted suffering is a solemn duty of the priesthood. But when one of my parishioners died of Covid-19 in a New York State prison, I felt the need to not only witness but to also tell the story he no longer can — the story of a prison system that failed to protect his life and the lives of so many others in its care, subjecting them to confusion, fear and even death. This man committed a crime and was…
Read MoreFL: DoC is Planning to Charge people in prison to Receive Mail
Orlando Sentinel, May 29 FDC will hold a public hearing June 11 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time Officials with the Florida Department of Corrections plan to almost completely digitize mail sent to state prisons by photocopying every card, letter or picture and providing it instead electronically to incarcerated people — a change that families and prison reform advocates argue could create more hurdles for maintaining connections with people in prison, as well as add additional burdens and costs to them and their loved ones. The plan, which was announced this…
Read MoreNY: Lawmakers wrestle with parole bills as session deadline nears
[thedailystar.com – 5/31/21] ALBANY — Proposals aimed at giving a second chance to well-behaved prison inmates are gaining traction at the statehouse in the final days of the 2021 legislative session. Perhaps the most controversial bill would require parole consideration for inmates who have served at least 15 years of their sentence and are 55 years or older. … One other criminal justice bill getting attention would seal the criminal records of thousands of offenders once they complete their sentences, provided the individuals are not on probation or parole, or…
Read MoreSouth Africa: Adoption of two bills to curb gender-based violence in SA welcomed
[www.iol.co.za – 5/31/21] Cape Town – Civil society organisations have welcomed the adoption of two pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening laws fighting gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). … He said the bill aimed to expand the scope of the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) to include the particulars of sex offenders and not only sex offenders against children and persons who were mentally disabled. Read the full article
Read MoreNJ: N.J. bill would help people with criminal records find housing
[inquirer.com – 5/31/21] A New Jersey single father of two convicted of drug offenses has been sober for almost two years and has been out of prison for about three. … New Jersey lawmakers are attempting to keep landlords from automatically disqualifying potential tenants who have criminal histories. Instead, bills under consideration encourage landlords to assess each applicant as an individual, taking into account factors such as severity of a crime and the amount of time since it occurred. … Exceptions include applicants who are on sex-offender registries for life.…
Read MoreIL: ‘Predator hunter’ leader indicted after alleged sting operation to trap supposed sexual predators
[nbcnews.com – 5/28/21] An Illinois man who created a Facebook group known to track potential sexual predators was charged in connection with a sting operation that went awry in early January, prosecutors said Monday. Kyle Swanson, 30, was indicted on a charge of unlawful restraint, obstruction of justice and assault in connection with his involvement with the KTS Predators Hunter Organization, according to court records. For more than two years, the vigilante group has posed as children on social media, tricked men into meeting up at public spaces in Illinois…
Read MoreUnanimous Opposition Repeated During Today’s CDCR Hearing
[ACSOL] For a second time, speakers unanimously stated their opposition today to regulations issued by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that categorically exclude registrants and those sentenced to life without parole from re-sentencing opportunities. Today’s hearing followed an initial hearing on May 7 during which technical difficulties that lasted for more than 20 minutes resulted in the inability of many people to speak about the regulations. “ACSOL thanks the dozens of people who spoke in opposition to CDCR’s regulations,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “CDCR is…
Read MorePhilippines: Senate approves bill on tougher crackdown vs online child sex abuse
[rappler.com – 5/27/21] Senators approved on final reading a bill that would expand government protections against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children. On Thursday, May 27, a total of 23 senators voted to pass Senate Bill (SB) No. 2209 or the proposed Special Protections against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children Act. No senator voted against the bill or abstained from the vote. SB 2209 provides a comprehensive list identifying which acts constitute online sexual abuse of children. … The bill would also give additional tools to law…
Read MoreIndia: Can rehab for people convicted of a sex offense help combat sexual violence?
[theweek.in] Sexual violence and the fear of sexual abuse has a profound and devastating effect on not only individuals, but entire communities. According to the 2019 annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 32,033 rape cases were registered across India; that is an average of 88 cases every day. Since the Nirbhaya gang rape in 2012, public outrage has led to more punitive measures to combat sexual violence, and keeping people convicted of a sex offense in prison for longer seems like an appealing resolve. However, in reality,…
Read MoreTX: Deputy’s dying confession leads to child sex crime charges
[abc13.com – 5/21/21] A deputy reportedly confessed to sexual assault of a child before he took his own life. In the process, he reportedly implicated two female colleagues. They have now been fired, arrested and charged. Watch the video
Read MoreWI: Clock is ticking for county to find housing for person listed on the registry
[ehextra.com – 5/26/21] MARINETTE — Nothing has changed since about two weeks ago when Marinette County Administrator John Lefebvre told the Administrative Committee the county still has not found a place to house a person convicted of a Wisconsin Chapter 980 sex offense. If the county doesn’t find housing for that person by June 10, it could face monetary sanctions. … At Tuesday’s county board meeting, he said, “At the present time options for placement are limited to none. There are no good viable options.” The county received notice Feb.…
Read MoreTX: 74-year-old man required to register was wrongly convicted in 1982, Dallas judge finds
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[dallasnews.com – 5/27/21] Nearly 40 years after Mallory Vernon Nicholson’s trial, a Dallas County district court judge has agreed with prosecutors and defense lawyers that his convictions for burglary and aggravated sexual abuse of a child should be overturned. Prosecutors in Nicholson’s 1982 trial failed to disclose reports from detectives and a doctor who evaluated the two victims that identified another suspect, according to court records signed last week by Criminal District Court 7 Judge Chika Anyiam. Nicholson “would not have been convicted in light of the suppressed evidence,” the…
Read MoreTX: [UPDATED] 3 on the run in Texas City murder of man who was reportedly listed on the sex offense registry
UPDATED STATUS: Sex offense registry status may have contributed to Texas City beating death, police say [galvnews.com – 5/29/21] [abc13.com – 5/24/21] TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) — As Texas City police search for three people on the run after a 65-year-old man was beaten to death, details are emerging about what could have led to the attack, including the victim’s past conviction for indecency with a child. Police already have 30-year-old Christopher Daniel Gomez in custody for the murder of Daniel Sanders, who investigators say was jumped outside of Diamond…
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