[cnn.com – 12/11/18] Even though Jacob Walter Anderson was indicted on four counts of sexual assault, the ex-fraternity president won’t spend a single day in prison. Instead, a plea agreement allowed the former Baylor University student to plead no contest to a lesser charge of unlawful restraint. That means if the 24-year-old successfully completes three years of deferred probation and pays a $400 fine, his criminal record will be wiped clean of the charge, CNN affiliate KWKT said. Anderson will have to complete alcohol, drug and psychological treatment plans. But…
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AZ: Human Trafficking Grant Goes to Arrest Suspected Victims in Tucson
[reason.com – 12/10/18] A Tucson Weekly investigation finds that federal funds to “fight sex trafficking” are actually perpetuating it. The program raked in $1.5 million from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its first year. Its mission: to disrupt human trafficking and help the crime’s victims in southeastern Arizona. Instead, Southern Arizona’s Anti-Trafficking Unified Response Network (SAATURN) largely engaged in arresting and prosecuting sex workers, including some suspected of being victims of sexual exploitation. We know this thanks to some solid investigative work from Tucson Weekly. Last week’s cover story…
Read MoreSCOTUS: Who Gets to Define the Crime?
Agencies have to interpret statutes to carry out the work of the administrative state. But in the hands of federal prosecutors, does interpretation amount to defining the crime itself? Herman Gundy believes that is what happened to him. In a case before the U.S. Supreme Court this term, Gundy v. United States, Gundy is challenging his conviction for failing to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act (SORNA). Failing to register is a federal felony. Full Article
Read MoreKat’s Blog: There’s No Making Sense of Residency and Presence Restrictions
Registrants receive mixed messages when trying to make sense of the registry’s Residency & Presence Regulations. If you haven’t already, try reading the updated (Sept. 2018) State & Territorial Registration Laws Concerning Visiting & Temporary Residence by Adults. Then read your individual state’s registry rules. It’s like trying to read the newspaper without reading glasses. While state boundary lines may be bold and clear, everything else is small print, blurred and causes a headache. Every state is different. In some cases every town is different. There are states with no…
Read MoreTrump signs Hatch-sponsored child pornography victim assistance law
[deseretnews.com – 12/7/18] Child pornography victims could have better access to federal restitution under a bipartisan bill President Donald Trump signed into law Friday. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a key sponsor of the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, called the signing a “momentous” day that was many years in the making. “This bipartisan legislation will provide meaningful assistance for child pornography victims to support their recovery and allow them to reclaim their lives. I am proud of this legislation and look forward to seeing it change…
Read MoreCT: Commission Considers Changes to State Sex-Offender Registry
Connecticut is steps closer to potentially changing the way the state’s sex-offender registry is managed. The Connecticut Sentencing Commission is holding a public hearing Thursday and reviewing several proposed changes following a two-year study that began in 2015. “There was concern in the legislature, I think, that maybe Connecticut could find a better way to deal with sex offender registration, sex offender management,” Superior Court Judge Robert Delvin, chair of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, said. Full Article
Read MoreLiving with 290: School Access
Requested permission to see my son’s wrestling matches and was denied. “Per our policy and your circumstance…” I asked for a copy of the cited policy and haven’t heard back. How have people here dealt with schools and access to our kids extra-curricular activities? State: CA
Read MoreGeneral Comments December 2018
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2018. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreOH: Parent’s petition to “Stop Child Sex Offenders and Child Abusers From Having All Rights To Children”
[change.org – 11/30/18] “Im writing this petition because of the number of children that are hurt daily due to a failed judicial system and relaxed punishments for offenders. Plus I myself are going threw an custody battle for my daughter to try to keep her away from her father that has been convicted of abuse and sex crimes against his other children” Read the petition she will send to Ohio government officials
Read MorePA: Superior Court removes Allegheny County judge from sex offender’s resentencing
The state Superior Court, in a rare move Wednesday, ordered Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel to be removed from a case, finding that there was “substantial evidence” that she “demonstrated bias and personal animus” against both the defendant and the public defender’s office representing him. Full Article Follow-Up: Allegheny County judge ordered removed by Superior Court from sex offender case recuses
Read MoreVA: Father of 5 says life on sex offender registry has forced him and his family into homelessness
Many people may be unconcerned with what someone on the registry goes through, but William Walker said he hopes by sharing details of his arrest and the collateral damage it’s causing his kids, someone will rent him a place to live. Full Article
Read MoreACSOL Meeting in San Diego on Sat, December 8
ACSOL’s upcoming meeting in San Diego is as follows Saturday, December 8 10 am 350 Cedar Street Lecture Hall #2 San Diego, CA 92101 Registrants, friends and family and interested service providers are invited to attend these free meetings. There will be no law enforcement or media present in order to protect everyone’s privacy. The meetings start at 10 am and last about 2-3 hours. Topics of conversation include information about ACSOL’s advocacy as well as current topics and pending legal action. Please Show up, Stand up, and Speak up!…
Read MoreCA: Abused then arrested: inside California’s crackdown on sex work
[theguardian.com – 11/28/18\ Willia will never forget the feeling of police officers’ hands on her body. The 37-year-old Sacramento woman says she can’t escape memories of policemen following her down the street or questioning her choice of clothing, scolding her for being outside, threatening her, grabbing her, forcing her into their car, and searching her. Willia is a survivor of abuse and sexual exploitation. But because she has also been a sex worker, she says police have only ever treated her as a criminal. Get Society Weekly: our newsletter for…
Read MoreCA: Changing Minds: Master student’s thesis challenges views on sex offender laws
A California law that will go into effect in 2021 is set to bring about the most sweeping changes ever to sex offender laws in the state. SB384 will allow most sex offenders to petition to be removed from the public registries in 10 to 20 years after they are released from prison, as long as they have not committed another serious or violent felony. Full Article PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARDS CALIFORNIA’S NEW LAW TO END LIFETIME SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION – Masters Thesis
Read MoreTX: Police, not judges, will decide if sex offender gets exemption
El Paso City Council Tuesday voted to amend the ordinance regarding exemptions issued to sex offenders. Currently, judges provide some sex offenders with an exemption to an ordinance which regulates where they can live. Now, El Paso Police will be responsible for issuing the exemptions. Full Article
Read MoreCotton wields sex offender report to tank prisons bill
GOP Sen. Tom Cotton is locked in an awkward fight with fellow Republicans over their push to change federal prison sentencing guidelines. And now he has a new attack line intended to make his rivals squirm: warnings that sex offenders could get off easy. Full Article
Read MoreIN: Sex offender questions meaning of ‘obscene’
[tribstar.com – 11/25/18] When community corrections officers went to check on Nathaniel Bennett, who was serving an in-home sentence for sexual misconduct with a minor, they found a cellphone with videos of a couple having sex. The phone also had what was described as “selfies” of Bennett and about 10 pictures of a nude woman. The contents of the phone violated a court order which barred Bennett from possessing obscene material, prosecutors maintain. Bennett also reportedly failed to make court payments. Marion County Superior Court Judge Lisa Borges removed Bennett…
Read MoreUT: Most sex offenders will be released from prison – What Utah corrections is doing to keep you safe
The sex offender population at the Utah State Prison continues to grow at a staggering pace. In 1996, there were 248 sex offenders incarcerated by the Utah Department of Corrections. Today, there are 10 times that number, in the neighborhood of 2,500 at both the Point of the Mountain and the prison in Gunnison, making it by far the fastest-growing population at the prison. … A Pew study in 2014 found that 31 percent of all inmates in Utah were serving time for a sex offense — a 42 percent…
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