[floridaactioncommittee.org – 6/8/18] The Dobbs Wire: The number of listings on sex offense registries in the U.S. has climbed to over 900,000, an increase of 3.3% in the last six months. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) just released its latest map which shows the latest figures for sex offense registries in all states. (NCMEC is a private organization that gets much of its funding from the federal government. Their map is updated twice a year; reliability of the numbers is uncertain.) Read more and view the map…
Read MoreMore News
ID: Sex offenders say Idaho law hurts them. Judge replies: Prove it
[idahostatesman.com – 5/30/18] BOISE, Idaho A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s sex offender registration laws, but the 134 anonymous sex offenders who brought the lawsuit have the option to refile the case if they can show the current laws caused them actual harm. That could be difficult, U.S. District Judge David Nye warned, because several common arguments have already been shot down in previous court cases. “Common arguments in this area are that the registration requirements are embarrassing, invasive and burdensome. These challenges, however, have been unavailing…
Read MoreThere are now more people on sex offender registries in the United States than there are in jail
[twitter.com/davidminpdx/ – 6/8/18] While its tempting to say mass incarceration is shrinking (albeit slightly), it might be more accurate to say it is morphing. View the tweet and the graphic
Read MoreCA: Registrant on Parole Challenges Social Media Ban
A lawsuit was filed today in federal court on behalf of a registrant who is on parole in order to challenge a parole condition that prohibits him from accessing all social media. Defendants in the case include the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the Secretary of CDCR and his parole officer. “Many registrants on parole are unlawfully being denied access to social media,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have determined that similar denials violate the First Amendment.” The plaintiff in…
Read MorePA: We must strengthen laws involving sexual predators: Tom Mehaffie
As precious members of our society, our children and grandchildren are the future of our country with the promise of a bright future. Unfortunately, there are adults within our population who prey upon them with sick intent regardless of the harm they inflict or the lifelong effects. To assist parents in the responsibility of raising their children, Pennsylvania has maintained a law on its books since 1996 to target those who harm kids. Megan’s Law, named after a young girl who was brutally raped and murdered in New Jersey in…
Read MoreMI: Treatment of sex offenders depends on whether they’ve challenged rules
Eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively upheld a decision saying parts of Michigan’s sex offender registry law — one of the toughest in the nation — were unconstitutional, thousands of former sex offenders who thought they’d be off the registry by now, or facing less severe restrictions, have seen no changes. Full Article
Read MoreTN: Summertime and the Livin’ Ain’t Easy!
[womenagainstregistry.org – 6/6/18] Knoxville, Tennessee. The South. Home of plantation porches and sweet tea. Land of greenways, rivers, lakes, mountains, parks and bike trails. Summertime and there’s plenty of outdoor activities, fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking and swimming to name a few. Your city and county tax dollars are at work to help maintain all of these wonderful avenues of adventure and sport, but as a registrant, you are excluded from taking advantage of many of these activities. Your almighty tax dollars aren’t working for you at all. The city of…
Read MoreCA: Federal Court Denies State Hospital’s Motion to Dismiss
[ACSOL – 6/6/18] A U.S. district court today denied a Motion to Dismiss filed by Coalinga State Hospital. Because of the denial, a lawsuit filed on behalf of two patients at that hospital will continue. “Today’s decision is a significant victory for hundreds of registrants who are also patients at Coalinga State Hospital,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The claims of the plaintiffs regarding retaliation for the exercise of their First Amendment rights are similar to claims that could have been made by many others.” In today’s decision, the…
Read MoreMI: Unexpected comments from a prosecutor
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 6/6/18] Ingham County (Michigan) Prosecutor Carol A. Siemon, issued a statement concerning the sentencing of former Michigan State football players in connection with a sexual offense. Below is an excerpt from her statement, quoted directly: The sex offender registry is a blunt instrument that I believe needs to be reformed and streamlined so that law enforcement can make better use of the information. It would be more effective as a law enforcement tool to keep the public safe if it targeted the cases that are most likely to…
Read MoreHow a phony cop gave this sex offender a new mission in life
[narsol.org – 6/6/18] By Michael M. . . . In late March of 2018, I received a phone call at ten-thirty PM on a Sunday night, purportedly from the County Sheriff’s Department. The caller informed me in an officious manner that they had a warrant for my arrest, issued by a local Superior Court Judge for failure to register as required by law. I replied rather matter-of-factly that I have, indeed, registered as required by law, and recited to him the time and date of said registration, as well as…
Read MoreCA: Judge Aaron Persky recalled over Brock Turner sentencing
[abc7news.com – 6/6/18] SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — Voters have recalled Judge Aaron Persky from office after he sentenced a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault to a short jail sentence instead of prison. Persky sentenced Brock Turner in June 2016 to six months in jail instead of prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman outside a fraternity house. The recall campaign launched shortly afterward. The campaign gained national prominence after the victim’s powerful courtroom statement lamenting her treatment by the judicial system was circulated…
Read MoreNC: Sex offender accused of attending dance recital
[jdnews.com – 6/4/18] A convicted sex offender accused of attending a Northside High school dance recital was arrested over the weekend but has since bonded out of jail. __________, 44, of N. Carole Drive in Jacksonville was arrested Saturday by the Jacksonville Police Department and charged with felony sex offender on child premises. __________, , a convicted felon, is accused of attending a dance recital at Northside High School on Saturday, according to warrants. Beth Purcell, Jacksonville Police Department’s media liasion, wrote in an email to the Daily News that…
Read MoreShould the Movement to Oust Bad Prosecutors Go After Judges Next?
[slate.com – 6/1/18] Four public defenders think so, but critics worry they’re turning criminal justice reform into an assault on the judiciary. Major cities across the United States are getting swept up in a movement to replace tough-on-crime prosecutors with reform-minded outsiders. Last November, Larry Krasner, a former federal public defender turned civil rights lawyer, was elected district attorney in Philadelphia. He rapidly set about changing business as usual, refusing to prosecute low-level marijuana offenses and instructing his deputies to begin plea negotiations from the minimum rather than the maximum…
Read MoreIt’s a 21st century optical illusion
[twitter.com – 6/5/18] We think that this kind of announcement in a public newspaper makes us all safer when in fact, all it does is drive a person to reoffend by banishing them. Read the full tweet
Read MoreWhy a convicted child molester is likely to be chosen in the MLB draft
[sports.yahoo.com – 6/5/18] Sometime over the next 48 hours, a Major League Baseball team is almost certain to ask a convicted, admitted child molester to play in its organization. It’s likeliest to happen Tuesday, during Rounds 3 through 10 of the MLB draft, or perhaps Wednesday, over the draft’s final 30 rounds. And on the off-chance that the handful of teams with Luke Heimlich on their draft boards opt against selecting him, the chance that he goes unsigned is basically zero. For more than a year now, teams have grappled…
Read MoreOlder teens less likely to think sexting would get them in trouble
[journalistsresource.org – unknown publishing date] Older teens are less likely than younger kids to think they’d get in trouble for sexting, new research finds. The study, to be published in a forthcoming issue of Computers in Human Behavior, also indicates boys are less likely than girls to believe sexting can have serious consequences. For example, girls are more likely to say sexting would result in trouble at school or hurt their chances of getting a job. For the purposes of this study, the researchers describe sexting as “the digital recording…
Read MoreNV: Giunchigliani responds to criticism over sex offender reporting bill as ‘untrue’ and ‘offensive’ in new ad
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Giunchigliani is calling an attack over her involvement in exempting teachers from a sex offender reporting bill while she was an assemblywoman “untrue” and “offensive” in a new ad released today. In the 30-second spot, Giunchigliani shares that she was sexually abused for over a year as a child and that her sister was kidnapped, held in a trailer and raped for three days. She also highlights five pieces of legislation she helped pass as an assemblywoman to increase penalties for sexual predators, make information concerning…
Read MoreCO: Hickenlooper vetoes bill to reduce conflicts of interests on Colorado’s sex-offender management board
Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday vetoed legislation that would have barred members of the Colorado Sex Offender Management Board from being able to profit from multi-million-dollar state contracts related to their work. Full Article Related Colorado governor vetoes bill that banned conflicts of interest on sex offender management board
Read More