In 2005, a 17-year-old, Amie Zyla, made a plea to members of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. Zyla had been sexually assaulted at age 8 by a 14-year-old friend of the family. Nine years after was convicted in juvenile court, Zyla was horrified to see him on the local news. He had been arrested for luring children into his apartment and videotaping dozens of them in his shower. “We cannot sit back and allow kids to continue to be hurt,” she told the subcommittee. “The…
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MA: Sex offender registry changes sought
The lowest level of convicted sex offenders would be required to register with local police and face increased scrutiny under plans to expand the state’s registry. A proposal by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr would require Level 1 sex offenders to register with police in person, while their names, addresses and other information would be added to a searchable online database, along with those of more serious Level 2 and 3 offenders. Full Article
Read MoreAZ: Sex offender registration on campus: important for public safety or counterproductive for reintegration?
ASU works with local law enforcement agencies to ensure that convicted sex offenders who work or study on campus comply with sex offender registration and community notification policies as mandated by state law. Those in favor of such requirements say they are important for public safety. But registered offenders and their advocates say these requirements are often counterproductive and affect offenders’ ability to get a second chance, especially in university settings. Full Article
Read MoreFL: A National Push For Victims’ Rights is Now Hitting Florida. But Critics Are Fighting Back
[injusticetoday.com] Voters in Florida may soon get to decide whether to give victims of crime a bigger say in the criminal justice system. A proposed amendment to the state constitution known as Marsy’s Law for Florida would enshrine specific rights for crime victims, such as the right to privacy and the “right to be reasonably protected from the accused.” It would also give victims legal standing to testify during hearings to determine a defendant’s bail, sentencing, plea deals and parole. “The pain a victim suffers in the aftermath of a…
Read MoreMO: To better spot sexual predators, schools get advice from teachers convicted of sex crimes
[news-leader.com] To better safeguard schools from sexual predators, the Center for Education Safety turned to an unlikely source: Former Missouri teachers convicted of crossing the line with students. Six former school employees, most still behind bars, agreed to answer questions from a former law enforcement officer who works as training coordinator for the center, which is part of the Missouri School Boards’ Association. At a training Monday in Springfield for school safety coordinators, interviewer Gary Moore shared what he gained by asking the convicted felons how they chose and groomed…
Read MoreCA: Prop 57: Letting Californian Sex-Offenders On The Loose [Editorial]
Initially, Proposition 57 seemed to be a feasible solution to California’s prison overcrowding. It promised that nonviolent offenders would be offered parole if they had already served their primary sentences and did not pose any threat to society. However, this changed when Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner ruled that thousands of sexual offenders would be eligible for parole under Proposition 57’s “nonviolent crime” clause. On March 5, the state of California announced that it will appeal Judge Summer’s ruling by arguing that those convicted of sexual violence should…
Read MoreNY: Outdated Ideas About Violent Crime Hurt Victims and Trap Offenders
[citylimits.org] On August 21st, 1979, two girls aged 17 and 21 entered Rose and Louis Feit’s apartment in Flatbush, Brooklyn and demanded money. Rose refused, so the girls grabbed a knife and a potato peeler out of the kitchen drawer. Rose Feit, who was 73, was left with 28 stab wounds, according to court records. Louis, who was 80, had 59. Both died of their injuries. Valerie Gaiter, the 21-year-old, was convicted of two counts of robbery and two counts of second-degree murder. Almost 40 years later, she’s still technically…
Read MoreMN: West St. Paul votes to loosen rules on where sex offenders can live
West St. Paul loosened its rules on where sex offenders can live Monday night, after struggling to strike a balance between residents’ concerns and possible legal repercussions of its highly restrictive policy. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Senate approves bill to fix loophole that allowed convicted sex offender to live next to victim
State leaders are taking action after a victim shined a light on a little known loophole in Oklahoma’s law. “He’s like right there, practically in my backyard and that kind of makes me nervous and not want to go home ever,” Danyelle Dyer told News 4 last year. Danyelle says her uncle, ____ ____, was released from prison after he was convicted of molesting her when she was a child. Full Article
Read MoreFixing a Non-Existent Problem with an Ineffective Solution [paper]
[uakron.edu] Sex offender. This is an extremely consequential label, carrying with it a harsh—and often unjustified—stigma. Virgil McCranie certainly did not want this label. Virgil was 19 years old and his girlfriend Misty was 14 years old when they first had sex. But later, Misty learned that Virgil had cheated on her, so she told her father that she had slept with Virgil. Enraged, Misty’s father went to the police with this information; Virgil was subsequently charged with statutory rape. Because she was under the age of consent at the…
Read MoreIreland: Falsely accused Belfast man slams vigilante paedophile hunters
[belfasttelegraph.co.uk] A Belfast law graduate has called for new legislation to curb vigilante paedophile hunters after he was wrongly identified as a sexual predator and falsely accused of grooming children. The Queen’s University graduate was left confused following a sudden influx of friend requests on social media, before it became apparent that he shared the same name as one of the vigilante group’s targets. A barrage of profane abuse soon followed. “It made me feel sick to the stomach. I was so angry when I realised what had happened, so…
Read MoreCanada: Calgary man suing police, feds for demanding fingerprints because of his birth date is same as a sex offender
[calgaryherald.com] A Calgary man says he was forced to provide his fingerprints or give up a 12-year career of coaching youth hockey, all because he shares the same date of birth as a pardoned sex offender. And after a fruitless five-year odyssey for an explanation for what he feels is a violation of his constitutionally protected Charter rights, retired oil engineer Jim Besse is now suing the RCMP, Calgary police, the Calgary police commission and Chief Roger Chaffin. “I have always been upfront, saying, ‘Take five minutes and tell me…
Read MoreMI: Wyatt’s Law: Proposed legislation aims to create statewide child abuser registry
[wxyz.com] A local mother is fighting to fix a broken system that leaves children vulnerable to extreme abuse at the hands of repeat offenders. “It was like oh my God. My worst fears came true. I was right. His case came into the prosecutor’s office as a homicide because they didn’t expect him to pull through,” says Erica Hammel, who’s son nearly died as a result of physical abuse. Today, Erica’s son Wyatt lives with major injuries that have impacted his day to day life. “That’s the heartbreaking thing for…
Read MoreUnjust Sexual Offense Laws: Insanity and Hope
[criminallegalnews.org] Unjust Laws Over the past 25 years, the U.S. has developed a pernicious system of sexual offense laws, including increased sentences and public registries of offenders. Based largely on unfounded hysteria surrounding a tiny fraction of high-profile cases, these laws today are a tangled mess and cause considerable injustice. The problems are caused in large measure by lawmakers’ desires to seem tough on crime and their lack of knowledge about the facts. There is a very broad brush applied to the term “sex offender.” Most, in fact, are not…
Read MoreFL: Junk science leads to father’s wrongful arrest, false accusation of raping his son
[washingtonpost.com] During the ritual-sex-abuse panic of the 1980s and 1990s, children undergoing recovered memory therapy and other dubious psychological treatment recounted crimes so horrific and depraved, they’re hard to even think about. They described bizarre satanic-themed sex abuse where children were penetrated with knives. They described orgies with adults and children who could barely walk. They described animal and human sacrifice. A big reason why these kids were believed despite the complete lack of physical evidence — if children were murdered, there should have been children in the area who…
Read MoreMN: 50-year conditional release or probation terms for sex offenders
[www.revisor.mn.gov] A bill for an act relating to public safety; requiring sex offenders to serve 50-year conditional release or probation terms; establishing intensive probation for certain sex offenders; Read the full bill
Read MoreNC: Questions keep convicted sex-offender parent from attending his child’s basketball games
[journalnow.com] ______, a sex offender, is being investigated by the Surry County Sheriff’s Office for going onto the campus of Millennium Charter Academy to watch his child play basketball, officials say. ____ was attending basketball games at the school this winter, and volunteered to run the clock under an agreement with the school that allows him to be on campus as long as he is under supervision. Someone raised an alarm with the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, and for now ____ and the school have mutually agreed that ____ won’t…
Read MoreNJ: NJ child porn kingpin pleads guilty, experts say Megan’s Law cannot prevent sex abuse
[trentonian.com] TRENTON >> An Ocean County man who possessed over 36,000 videos and images of child pornography pleaded guilty Tuesday to distributing child pornography online. Anthony White, 31, of Lakewood, is facing a six-year recommended prison sentence and will be required to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law, but two New Jersey experts warn that sex offender registration and notification laws do not prevent sexual violence. Psychology professors Elizabeth Jeglic of Cranbury and Cynthia Calkins Mercado of Union City dispute the conventional wisdom of Megan’s Law in a…
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