Jason was 14 years old when he met his first girlfriend, a 13-year-old neighbor of the foster family with whom he lived. After a few months of dating, his girlfriend’s mother walked in on the teenagers engaging in consensual oral sex and called the police. Jason was arrested and charged with child molestation. He was adjudicated delinquent in juvenile court and placed on the California Sex Offender Registry. Before he was old enough to drive, Jason was branded a sex offender on a public, searchable website. Full Opinion Piece
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NIJ: Tracking Sex Offenders: Federal Law, Resources Have Led to Marked Improvement of State Registries, But More Work Is Needed
[nij.ojp.gov – 11/13/20] Communities want to know when convicted sex offenders are living in their midst. For a quarter century, federal law has guaranteed communities the right to know. In 1994, Congress mandated that all states develop sex offender registries. Two years later, Megan’s Law provided that sex offender information must be made public. In the ensuing decade, sex offender laws and registries sprang up in all states — but not always with the full impact intended. In some instances, technology deficits limited information sharing across registries and jurisdictions, a…
Read MoreDutch police give ‘stop paedophile hunts’ warning after Arnhem death
[bbc.com – 11/13/20] A Dutch police chief has called for an end to “paedophile hunting” after a 73-year-old retired teacher was beaten up by teenagers and died of his injuries. Oscar Dros said there was a risk more people could die and he appealed for justice to be left to the authorities. The man from the eastern city of Arnhem was lured into having sexual contact with a minor while in a gay chatroom. Authorities said he was aware the boy was underage. But there was no evidence of past…
Read MoreWhen Hate Speech Leads to Violence
[thecrimereport.org – 11/13/20] by Derek W. Logue I recently received an email from the wife of a person listed on the public sex offense registry in a small town in Washington State. She was immensely concerned about seeing a pickup truck parked at a local business sporting a decal portraying a man shooting a kneeling man, execution-style, in the back of the head, with the caption reading, “Shoot Your Local Pedophile.” (The truck also displayed a #SaveOurChildren sticker, a QAnon slogan adopted from Anita Bryant’s defunct anti-homosexuality crusades.) She voiced…
Read MoreCA: Sex Offender Compliance Checks Conducted In Marin County
[msn.com – 11/13/20] MARIN COUNTY, CA — Authorities this week checked to see if sex offenders in Marin County were in compliance with the terms of their probation. Marin County sheriff’s detectives, county probation officers and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation K9 units conducted unannounced searches Tuesday across the county, contacting 19 registered and non-registrant sex offenders. One offender admitted using illegal substances and was arrested, according to the Marin County Probation Department. After searching his home, officers seized his electronic devices for further investigation. A court date to…
Read MoreConfidential Volunteers for Doctoral Research on Sexual Misconduct Needed [UPDATED 11/28]
[Joseph De Gearo at Adelphi University, NY – adelphi.edu] We are exploring the perceptions of men accused of sexual misconduct during college. The goal of our research is to improve policy, prevention and education. The volunteer would be interviewed confidentially for about an hour by Zoom or phone. If you are male accused of sexual misconduct during college and are willing to volunteer, please contact me: Joe De Gearo [email protected] [updated 11/28/20] (516) 993-0024
Read MoreFacebook page requires no evidence to call men sexual abusers
[thepostmillennial.com – 11/11/20] This summer, we witnessed a new wave of #MeToo sexual misconduct accusations on social media targeting powerful men in various industries in the province of Quebec. Like the previous instance of online indictments of sexual harassment, few professed victims could present proof supporting their allegations’ validity. And so, we were told to “believe all victims,” even when evidence was absent. Not satisfied with the current Quebec’s legal process, Delphine Bergeron and an unnamed collaborator decided to curate a public list of potential sexual harassers’ names. The administrators…
Read MoreFL: Disney World Vacation Leads to Fight Over Florida Sex Offender Law
[wjno.iheart.com – 11/10/20] TALLAHASSEE — A Pennsylvania man has filed a challenge to a Florida law that has kept him on a sexual-offender registry after a 10-day family vacation to Disney World in 2015. The man, identified in court documents as John Doe, reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office when he came to Florida because he was on a Pennsylvania registry at the time as a result of a child-pornography conviction in 2002. Doe was removed from the Pennsylvania registry in 2016 but has remained registered as a sex…
Read MoreNH: ‘Hellhole’ dad on track to get 15-year prison sentence vacated
A clerical error will likely upend a guilty plea that sent a Manchester father to prison for 15 years for the abuse of his two young children in what police described at the time as a hellhole, according to court documents. … The issue: ____ wasn’t informed that once his 15- to 30-year sentence is completed, he will have to register as a child offender. The defense lawyer who handled his original case, Paul Garrity, has said he was not aware that adults convicted of serious harm against children land…
Read MoreGeneral Comments November 2020
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of November 2020. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read MoreCA: ACSOL Lawsuit alleges Irvine sex offender rule conflicts with state law
[ocregister.com – 11/6/20] An Irvine resident who is on the state’s sex offender registry is challenging a city rule that prevents him from taking his own child to a public park, according to a lawsuit he filed and an attorney representing him. Irvine’s municipal code requires people on the registry who were convicted of an offense involving a minor to get written permission from the police chief to enter any city park or recreation facility; violation of the rule is a misdemeanor that could carry a fine or jail time.…
Read MoreIL: Name Change for Transgender Sex Offender Debated at Seventh Circuit
[courthousenews.com – 11/6/20] CHICAGO (CN) — A Seventh Circuit panel heard arguments Friday over whether a Wisconsin law barring convicted sex offenders from changing their name amounts to free speech infringement. The underlying lawsuit was brought in Milwaukee federal court in May 2019 by Karen Krebs, a transgender woman from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who cannot change her name due to a 1992 conviction which required her to register as a sex offender. Wisconsin law makes it a Class H felony for anyone who is required to register as a sex offender…
Read MoreOH: Landlord with convicted rapist as tenant tests nationwide eviction moratorium
[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…
Read MoreCalifornia Approves Parolee Voting, Rejects Additional Violent Felonies (Prop 17 & 20)
Voters in the state of California approved voting by parolees and rejected a proposed significant increase in the number of violent felonies in yesterday’s election. That is, voters approved Proposition 17, by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent, that will allow individuals on parole to vote in future elections. And voters rejected Proposition 20, by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent, that would have increased the number of violent felonies from 27 to 51. “ACSOL thanks everyone who followed its recommendations by voting in favor of…
Read MoreOK: 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 MoreJanice’s Journal: We Are at the Brink
The Cambridge English dictionary defines the word “brink” as the point where a new or different situation is about to begin. The word “brink” therefore accurately describes the current situation facing almost 1 million people in the United States who are required to register as sex offenders. There are three reasons this is true. First, the United States is about to either re-elect the same President or elect a new President as well as countless other politicians on the city, county, state and federal levels. The results of those elections…
Read MoreCA Dept. of Justice Changes Registration Form, Misstates Federal Law
The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) recently changed the state’s registration form (CJIS 8102S). In doing so, it added the following sentence: “Federal law requires me to notify my registering agency no less than 21 days before I intend to travel internationally.” “The main problem with the new statement is that it does not accurately reflect current federal law,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. According to a five-page letter sent today by ACSOL, state governments that comply with SORNA are required to demand international travel information from registrants.…
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