Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of July 2018. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreMore News
CA: Maywood to Consider Repeal of Residency Restrictions
The City of Maywood is scheduled to consider repeal of its residency restrictions during a City Council meeting on July 11. If the City Council approves repeal of the restrictions on that date, a second vote will be required at its next meeting on July 25. “The current residency restrictions in the City of Maywood virtually banish all people required to register from living in that city,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “As a result, Maywood families have been torn apart.” ACSOL notified the City of Maywood in a…
Read MoreCO: Sex Offender Registration Act Requires Registry for Individuals with More than One Conviction for Unlawful Sexual Behavior
Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of second degree sexual assault and one count of third degree sexual assault and entered into a plea agreement. Among other things, the plea agreement provided that the trial court would dismiss the felony charge once defendant complied with his deferred judgment. A condition of the deferred judgment was that defendant register as a sex offender pursuant to the Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA). Defendant completed his deferred judgment and the felony charge was dismissed. Years later, defendant filed a petition to discontinue…
Read MoreMI: Man’s prison-made drawings of child sex acts qualify as pornography
A prisoner’s hand-made drawings of child sex acts qualify as child pornography, according to a state Court of Appeals ruling. Full Article Opinion Opinion
Read MoreOH: Man Faces 30 Years in Prison on Child Porn Charges for Taking Sexy Photos of 17-Year-Old Girlfriend When He was 20
A 27-year-old Cleveland man faces between 15 and 30 years in prison for allegedly producing child pornography. But no children were harmed by his actions: The man merely took consensual, sexually suggestive pictures of his 17-year-old girlfriend when he was 20. https://reason.com/blog/2018/07/05/sexy-pictures-17-child-porn-arrest
Read MoreThomas Jefferson: America’s most esteemed child predator
[narsol.org – 7/4/18] By Robin Vander Wall . . . July 4th. A sex offender died today. Well, not precisely. But, on this day 192 years ago, a sex offender passed away. This was no common sex offender. In fact, he was more remarkable than most men who’ve ever lived. Governor of Virginia. Minister to France. First Secretary of State. Second Vice President. Third President of the United States. And, perhaps most importantly of all, the person responsible for writing the Declaration of Independence. Yes, Thomas Jefferson was a sex…
Read MoreCA: In ‘Sex, Crime and Culture’ Class, Students Scrutinize Policies, Practices
[fullerton.edu – 7/3/18] Summer Young, a student working toward a career as a prosecutor, was intrigued by the title of a criminal justice class at Cal State Fullerton: “Sex, Crime and Culture.” “This is a topic that many tend to shy away from,” said Young, who took the course over the summer. “There are too many stereotypes that cloud our judgment of what a person who sexually perpetrates looks and acts like.” The course is led by Alissa Ackerman, an assistant professor of criminal justice and sex crimes researcher who…
Read MoreScammers Targeting Registrants
[blog.womenagainstregistry.org – 7/4/18] Scammers- They come in all shapes and sizes and use any means possible first to scare and intimidate you and then to separate you from your hard earned money. There are email scams that inform you that you’ve won big prizes or that you’ve come into a gazillion dollar inheritance, all you have to do is send some money to cover the taxes. There are phone scammers claiming to be from MicroSoft, the IRS, Medical Device Companies, you name it, they are endless. The phone ID’s are…
Read MoreTitle: Evaluation of the Implementation of the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS) [paper on assessing risk]
[nij.gov – 5/2018] This report that details findings from a study designed to follow sex offenders on probation over time in two geographically diverse settings to assess recidivism and the predictive accuracy of Evaluation of the Implementation of the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS). Results indicate that SOTIPS is a promising instrument for assessing dynamic risk factors in sex offenders on probation. Download the paper
Read MoreCollateral Consequences in Occupational Licensing Act
[http://ccresourcecenter.org – 6/29/18] We’ve noted in recent posts the numerous states that, just in the past three or four months, have enacted broad occupational licensing reforms affecting people with a criminal record. Many of these new laws have been influenced by a model developed by the Institute for Justice (IJ), a libertarian public interest law firm that has been litigating and lobbying to reduce barriers to work for more than two decades. In turn, states like Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee and Wisconsin have built upon IJ’s model to enact even more…
Read MoreMO: Letters: Readers discuss Luke Heimlich
[amp.kansascity.com – 7/2/19] It seems as if every time the name Jason Kander appears in any newspaper, it is qualified with “rising star” or some similar phrase that provides Kander with more credibility than just using his name would. Are reporters allowing publicity managers to direct their writing, or are all reporters just really taken with him? The last Missouri candidate with an ego similar to Kander’s had to quit his office. Allow Kander to earn his respect. Don’t anoint him. Read more
Read MoreFor formerly incarcerated, little room in Airbnb’s sharing economy
[usatoday.com – 6/28/18] Airbnb doesn’t care about people like me. I learned this the hard way a few months ago when I tried to find accommodation in Washington, D.C. After chaperoning two busloads of youth from New York City for the March for Our Lives, I decided to stay a couple more days. The other chaperones agreed to ride the bus back to New York City with the kids, and I logged into my new Airbnb account for the first time to find a place to spend the night. Soon…
Read MoreNY: Ruling Appears To Give Sex Offenders A Pass On Facebook
[wwnytv.com – 6/29/18] It’s a case out of Essex County called the People v. Ellis. “Their decision was that Facebook accounts did not have to be registered if you are a sex offender,” said Leanne Moser, Lewis County District Attorney. New York state law requires sex offenders to register their Internet providers and any Internet identifiers that they use, but the court in Essex County decided Facebook is not either of those. Right now, courts in the north country have to follow the ruling, unless there is another contrary ruling…
Read MoreNE: Nebraska FEARLESS the subject of newly-published article: creation and how it helps registered citizens and their families
[nebfacts.blogspot.com – 6/26/18] Nebraskans Unafraid’s FEARLESS is the subject of a newly-published research paper. The paper, written by Lisa Sample, Brooke Cooley, and Tusty ten Bensel, looks at the creation of FEARLESS and how it helps registered citizens and their families. Here is the abstract from the article. The term sex offender carries expectations that include a continuous level of sexual criminal risk and untreatable mental health conditions that govern sex offending behaviors. These role expectations by the public can socially isolate individuals who have been convicted of a crime…
Read MoreVA: Longer sentences for violent sex predators
[fredericksburg.com – 7/2/18] THE Commonwealth of Virginia recently announced plans to expand a facility that treats convicted sex offenders who have served their prison sentences, but are considered too dangerous to release back into the community. It is alarming that the center has already exceeded its initial residency projections just 10 years after opening in 2008. The Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation in Burkeville will increase its current capacity from 258 to 450 beds to make room for former inmates classified as sexually violent predators (SVPs). The $110 million project…
Read MorePublic Officials and Accountability
[sosen.org – 7/3/18] What would happen if we would require our government employees to be able to pass a written tests where they had to show proof that they understood the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights, as well as other matters pertaining to citizenship within this country? Then after these people became employees of the government they would be held accountable both civilly and criminally for actions that violated other people’s constitutional protected rights. No more immunity for people in the government, I believe at…
Read MoreWHY SEX OFFENDER REGISTRIES KEEP GROWING EVEN AS SEXUAL VIOLENCE RATES FALL
Quentin (not his real name) was convicted eight years ago of child pornography possession in Florida. He served his time and has since moved to another state. But his sentence required his photo and other personal details to appear on Florida’s sex offender registry, and there they will stay for the rest of his life, even if he never sets foot in the state again. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Dismantling at-risk inmate housing brings hurdles
Special California prisons intended to protect gang informants, disgraced cops and child molesters have become so violent, gang-riddled and crowded that officials are dismantling what’s become the United States’ largest protective custody program. Full Article
Read More