The public got a chance Monday to weigh in on three proposals that would change Connecticut’s criminal justice system in very different ways. One proposal would change which sex offenders would have to continue to appear on the sex offender registry; another proposes a constitutional amendment on pretrial release and detention, and a third would reduce a state sentence for a misdemeanor offense by one day to prevent more severe immigration consequences. Full Article
Read MoreMore News
FL: Inside the Remote, Little-Known Sanctuary for Sex Offenders
Seen from a distance, perhaps from a low-flying helicopter, or standing a few hundred feet away on a road that cuts through the green sugarcane surrounding it, Miracle Village, in Central Florida outside of Pahokee, looks like it could be a modest retirement community. Perhaps a modern-day off-the-grid commune, carved from a little spot of remote farmland. Miracle Village, though, is neither. It is a community devoted entirely to housing convicted sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreMI: Zachery Anderson denied termination of probation
For someone who probably should not have been prosecuted in the first place, Zach Anderson is certainly continuing to get a raw deal from the system. Now 22, when Zach was 19 he had sex with someone he met on line who claimed she was 17. Turns out she was only 14. Even though she admitted to lying about her age, Zach was sentenced to jail time, probation and 25 years on Michigan’s sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreInternet Censorship Bills Wouldn’t Help Catch Sex Traffickers
[Electronic Frontier Foundation] In the most illuminating part of last week’s House subcommittee hearing on the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA, H.R. 1865), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agent Russ Winkler explained how he uses online platforms—particularly Backpage—to fight online sex trafficking. Winkler painted a fascinating picture of agents on his team posing as johns, gaining trust with traffickers, and apprehending them. His testimony demonstrated how, with proper training and resources, law enforcement officers can navigate the online platforms where sex work takes place…
Read More#DontLookAway: The difference between paedophiles and sex offenders
[The Star, Johannesburg, South Africa] Johannesburg – Every now and then police report busting international paedophile rings. The details are gory, adults – usually men – sharing pictures and videos of young children being abused. In one of the cases early this year, one of the worst paedophiles was sentenced to 32 life sentences and a further 170 years for, among other things, sexually abusing his girlfriend’s two-year-old daughter. Other than raping her, he used a toy dinosaur, thermometer and a sex toy to penetrate the child. The man, who…
Read MoreDon’t Rush New Sexual Harassment Policies, Some Women Lawmakers Warn
[governing.com] One of the top agenda items for state legislatures next year will be to address the rampant sexual harassment in state capitols. Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have been accused of sexual harassment — or worse — since the #metoo movement took off in mid-October. But several women in the Illinois legislature, which has already passed new laws in response to the outcry, caution that lawmakers should take their time when writing new sexual harassment policies. “When you’re in crisis mode, you tend to move quickly. I…
Read MoreMD: Theater cancels ‘A Christmas Carol’ after revelation that Scrooge actor is convicted sex offender
Faced with the revelation that their lead actor was a convicted sex offender and fearing the possibility of protests, the Fells Point Corner Theatre and the Collaborative Theatre Company have canceled their production of “A Christmas Carol,” which was scheduled to open Friday. Full Article
Read MoreWill Feminism’s Past Mistakes Haunt #MeToo?
Women’s fight for the right to work free of sexual insult or molestation has been a long, long one. For nearly two centuries, in labor strikes and broadsides, speak-outs, marches, and now in social media, women have protested the ubiquity of sexual harassment and the impunity of its perpetrators. Full Article
Read MoreIN: Justices to decide if sex offender’s internet restriction unconstitutional
After being convicted of incest with his teenage niece, a Tippecanoe County man’s sentence contained several probation conditions, including a prohibition on accessing websites “frequented by children” and a prohibition on internet use without prior approval. Those conditions are the subject of an appeal now under review by the Indiana Supreme Court, which will decide whether the conditions, as applied, are unconstitutional. During oral arguments Thursday in Kristopher Weida v. State of Indiana, 79S02-1711-CR-00687, Brian Karle, counsel for Weida, argued against the constitutionality of the probation conditions, telling the justices the…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Why Did Senator Franken Resign?
U.S. Senator Al Franken has announced that he will soon resign. The public reason he gave for his resignation is that he has been accused of sexual misconduct. The real reason, however, may be something quite different. For how does a man, even a U.S. Senator, defend himself after he has been accused of sexual misconduct in a society that assumes guilt rather than innocence when a person has been accused of such an offense? A society that ignores important safeguards of the Constitution including that we are innocent until…
Read MoreVA: Forcing kid to masturbate for cops in sexting case was wrong, court finds
A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in favor of a Virginia man who, as a teen, was once ordered by a lower court to be photographed while masturbating in the presence of armed police officers. Full Article
Read MoreTN: Law Leaves Many Schools Afraid to Teach Sexual Abuse Prevention
Teachers and school systems fear running afoul of the gateway law, which allows teachers to be fined up to $500 for discussing “gateway sexual activity” in the classroom. Full Article
Read MoreChildren on Sex Offender Registries at Greater Risk for Suicide Attempts, Study Suggests
A new study led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that children who were legally required to register as sex offenders were at greater risk for harm, including suicide attempts and sexual assault, compared to a group of children who engaged in harmful or illegal sexual behavior but who were not required to register. Full Article
Read MoreOR: After 15 years, ex-lawyer branded as child molester wins a reversal
The Oregon Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed the conviction of a former lawyer who was found guilty in 2002 of sexually touching a 10-year-old girl in the kitchen of a McMinnville home, in a case riddled with questionable evidence. Although Bradley Christopher Holbrook has already served a 6 ¼-year prison sentence, the reversal means he will no longer be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and carry that stigma. It also means that he won’t be a convicted felon anymore and could…
Read MoreForeign Minor Attempting to Meet a U.S. Sex Offender Intercepted by CBP officers at LAX
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) intercepted a 17-year-old male citizen of New Zealand on Monday who was traveling alone on a one-way ticket to visit a male family member in Michigan who has two felony convictions for sexual conduct with a person under 13. Full Article
Read MorePA: Legislature to address Pa’s sex offender registration laws
A bill introduced this week in Harrisburg attempts to fix flaws in the state’s sex-offender registration system identified in a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in July and could affect more than 10,000 registrants. Full Article
Read MoreNH: Public pool can’t ban sex offender
PORTSMOUTH — City Attorney Robert Sullivan confirmed he recently met with a group of people who are concerned because a registered sex offender has been using the Portsmouth Indoor Pool. The pool, located near the high school, is used by community members and youth and school swim teams. After the meeting, Sullivan said, he reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire to get its input. “The actions which the city might be able to take or which the city might be prevented from taking would be…
Read MoreSMITH: International Megan’s Law working to protect children
New Jersey’s Maureen and Richard Kanka’s courage and perseverance through unspeakable tragedy — the sexual abuse and murder of their daughter Megan in 1994 — has brought significant protection to children across our state, the U.S. and throughout the world. Full Article
Read More