In the 1990s, in response to a number of horrific and highly publicized crimes against children, states and the federal government created stringent penalties for sex offenders, notably registries where offenders’ names and addresses are available to the public. But now critics across the country are demanding review and revision of these policies, saying they are based on false assumptions, are a waste of money and do more harm than good. Full Article
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GA: Pardon Lifts Requirement to Register as Sex Offender
Georgia’s highest court says a man convicted of sexually abusing a young girl no longer must register as a sex offender after receiving a pardon. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Supreme Court rules sex offender can be tried as adult for crime committed at age 9
A convicted sex offender in Wisconsin seemed to believe he was off the hook when police learned that he allegedly committed a sexual assault at the age of 9. Full Article Decision Related In Wisconsin, we can send people to prison for things they did when they were 5
Read MoreLA: Two sexual exploitation bills pass Louisiana Legislature
[kalb.com 5/18/18] Two bills targeting sexual exploitation passed through the Louisiana Legislature Friday. One would set policies for employers to detect victims of human trafficking, and the other would increase penalties for crimes involving prostitution. Rep. Julie Stokes, R-Kenner, wrote the bill that would relate to the trafficking victims, including employees of sexually oriented businesses like stores selling sexual materials and businesses with live sexual performances. The businesses would have to verify age and employment status of current and prospective employees and keep those records for three years. They also…
Read MoreWV: Tweaks to enforcement should be considered for complex sex registry law
[wvnews.com 5/19/18] During a recent sentencing hearing, Harrison Circuit Judge Thomas A. Bedell read sex offender registry rules to a defendant. Bedell was reading at a steady pace, and it still took 14 minutes. The Legislature requires that judges read the rules to defendants after they’re convicted, ostensibly to avert the possibility later of offenders saying they never were informed of the requirements. advertisement A judge reading the document aloud in court creates an official record. And it also takes away the possible illiteracy defense from an offender. But what…
Read MoreCO: Polygraph testing and treatment of sexual offenders
[jenniferkamorowski.net 5/19/18] On May 9, the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 1427, which prohibits individuals with a vested economic interest in administration of polygraph tests from serving on the sex offender management board (SOMB). Beyond the issue of conflict of interest, there are other reasons to keep polygraph out of sex offender treatment decisions. The primary reasons are issues with reliability and the coercive nature of compelling disclosures about thoughts and activities (legal or illegal). Polygraph testing in post-conviction sex offender treatment (PCSOT) is used in approximately 80% of community-based…
Read MoreACSOL Conference: Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Fellow to Speak
Guy Hamilton-Smith, a fellow at the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Research Institute, will speak at the ACSOL conference on both June 15 and June 16. As a speaker, he will address two issues — child pornography and how to success as a registrant. “Guy Hamilton-Smith is a leader in our community of registrants,” stated ACSOL President Chance Oberstein. “We welcome his participation in this year’s conference.” Hamilton-Smith, a law school graduate, is well known for his challenge to take the Kentucky bar exam in 2013. In a decision by…
Read MoreCA: All of Mugshots.com’s alleged co-owners arrested on extortion charges
[UPDATED LINKS 5/20/18] [arstechnica.com 5/17/18] Two alleged owners of Mugshots.com—Sahar Sarid and Thomas Keesee—have been arrested in south Florida on a recently issued California warrant. The notorious website publishes mugshots and then demands payment for their removal. On Wednesday, the attorney general of California brought criminal charges against not only Sarid and Keesee, but also Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie and David Usdan. The quartet has been charged with extortion, money laundering, and identity theft. Bhavnanie was arraigned by a Pennsylvania state judge also on Wednesday—his bail was reportedly set at $1.86…
Read MoreAustralia: Tougher punishment needed for child sex crimes
[theage.com.au 5/16/18] Should child sex offenders be named and shamed, and their locations placed on a public register after they are released from prison? Raping or otherwise sexually assaulting a child is a crime so vile it challenges the capacity of lawmakers and the judicial system to design adequate and effective punishments and deterrents. The task is all the more difficult because such atrocities understandably elicit profound emotional responses, including despair, rage and a searing desire for retribution. … Evidence shows public registers of offenders can add to the suffering…
Read MoreWI: Lifetime GPS monitoring not punishment
A Wisconsin judge wasn’t required to tell a man he would face a lifetime of GPS monitoring upon pleading guilty to child sex crimes because such monitoring is a public safety measure, not a form of punishment, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday. Full Article
Read MoreBrazil: Arrests hundreds in massive crackdown on child porn
In just one day, Brazilian authorities went after 578 people on warrants for crimes of child pornography and sexual exploitation of minors. The massive raid is the largest ever in Brazil — and possibly in the world. Full Article
Read MoreDear Gay
Ryan is the hardest part of my story to explain. We have never met, nor will we, and yet he radically changed the course of my life. The path that I’ve walked since law school was not one that I intended. I did not go to law school advocate for sex offenders. I went to hide. I went for lack of better ideas. I went because it interested me. I went because, while I was fortunate to have parents who put up money to retain counsel, I saw many who did…
Read MoreThe Criminal History of Federal Offenders
[ussc.gov 5/17/18] (Published May 17, 2018) The publication The Criminal History of Federal Offenders provides for the first time complete information on the number of convictions and types of offenses in the criminal histories of federal offenders sentenced in a fiscal year. While the Commission has collected the criminal history points and Criminal History Category (CHC) as determined under the guidelines, it has not collected complete information on the number of convictions or the types of offenses in the criminal histories of federal offenders until now. The Commission is now…
Read MoreWA: Probationer Wins Washington Supreme Court Case on Pornography
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/17/18] A convicted sex offender in Washington challenged a provision of his probation that prevented him from “possessing or accessing pornographic materials” and won! The definition of “pornographic materials”, he argued, is unconstitutionally vague. It could mean watching the film Titanic, or having a Victoria’s Secret catalogue. The Court agreed, finding, “the statute must “give the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what [behavior] is prohibited.” Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108. Second, the law must provide explicit standards to those charged with enforcing the law in…
Read MoreFL: Ron Books Lobbying Firm Rakes in the Cash from Private Prison Companies
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/17/18] Florida’s lobby firms filed their first quarter results this week and the three-person firm of Ronald L. Book, P.A. came in as one of the highest paid lobbying firms in the State, behind much larger firms Ballard and 200-person firm, Southern Strategy Group. According to the firm’s first quarter report, filed Tuesday, Ron Book’s firm took in $3.4Million for lobbying legislators during the period of January 01, 2018 – March 31, 2018, (source: https://floridalobbyist.gov) Among his top clients… private, for-profit, prison companies GEO Group and Correct Care Solutions,…
Read MoreUse copyright law to battle mugshot extortion
[abajournal.com 3/27/18] After her DUI charge was dropped, Julie Cantu thought her nightmare was over. Then, she went on a date. Over dinner, Cantu’s would-be-suitor was asking questions anyone asks on a first date. Then he asked about her criminal record. Caught off-guard by the question, she thought about the dropped charge. Her blood alcohol had been 0.021, well below the legal limit of 0.08, and she had no other contact with the law. How did her date know? After getting home, the Florida resident and retired nurse went online…
Read MoreFL: New Encampment, “Bookville V”, already has 75 “residents”
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/16/18] As Legal Services of Greater Miami attorney Jeffrey Hearne cautioned the Judge and the media less than one week ago; unless something is done (about the 2500 foot exclusion zone) new encampments will pop up and “the cycle will continue.” It took less than a week after hundreds of registrants were evicted from a warehouse district along the railroad tracks near Hialeah for a new encampment to emerge; “Bookville V”, is named after lobbyist Ron Book, the man who not only created the laws that force sex offenders…
Read MoreCA: Posting mugshots on internet draws criminal charges from California attorney general
[sacbee.com 5/16/18] California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday filed extortion and money laundering charges against the owners of a website that publishes mugshot photos and charges a fee to remove them. His office is targeting Mugshots.com, which pulls photos and identifying information about criminal suspects from law enforcement departments around the country. The site charges a “de-publishing fee” to remove someone from its archives, according to Becerra’s office. Becerra said it has frustrated people who were accused of crimes they did not commit. “This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit…
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