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…
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Janice’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 MoreGeneral Comments December 2017
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2017. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreA new scarlet letter for harassment charges (Editorial)
In an effort to encourage a more equitable system of justice in this country — something to which any number of legislators, unprincipled prosecutors and judges seem opposed — I believe it would be in our best interest to treat all those charged with sexual harassment and sexual misconduct the same way we treat all sex offenders. Full Editorial
Read MoreCO: Town of Palisade lowers fee sex offenders are required to pay to register
[thedenverchannel.com] PALISADE, Colo. – In a move designed to encourage compliance from offenders, the town of Palisade has lowered the fees associated with registering as a sex offender. The decision to lower the fee from $75 a year to $25 a year was made earlier this month by the Board of Trustees, Denver7 news partner KJCT reported. The Palisade Police Department asked the board to lower the fee on behalf of offenders, who may be dissuaded to register because of the financial burden. The reduction of fees is not expected…
Read MoreConcerns with adding juveniles to sex registry lists
A national practice since the late 1990s, sex offender registration and community notification for adult offenders has correlated with significant drops in the rates of sex offenses. Nevertheless, there remains significant debate over its actual social benefits. The same cannot be said, however, for juvenile sex offender registration, which is both economically disastrous and causes incredible hardships for children raised on the registry. This is because registration brings with it a number of disabilities both legal (e.g., exclusion from certain jobs, professional licenses or places of residence, and a requirement to…
Read MoreMA: Lawmakers consider shining light on secret sex offenders
Secret sex offenders could soon be forced out of the shadows in Massachusetts. The state considers Level 1 sex offenders a low risk to re-offend so information about them is not available to the public, but a bill under consideration on Beacon Hill would allow people to find out if a specific person is a Level 1 offender or if a Level 1 offender lives at a particular address. Full Article
Read MoreWhen a Sex Offender Comes to Visit: A National Assessment of Travel Restrictions
The present study examines the registration requirements for sex offenders traveling from their resident state to another state for business or pleasure. The author contacted each state’s primary SORN office to obtain the necessary registration requirements for non-resident sex offenders, as well as where and how non-resident sex offenders can obtain this information prior to visiting that state. The findings indicate that registration requirements and residence restrictions vary significantly by state for non-resident registrants. While not surprising given that numerous studies have highlighted that sex offender policies produce unique and…
Read MoreGrenada to establish sex offender’s registry
The government of Grenada has announced its plans to establish a special victims unit and enact legislation that will require convicted sex offenders to be registered as part of the efforts to combat increasing child sexual abuse and other forms of sexual violence. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell said that it is alarming that in 2017, approximately 60 percent of all cases before the Courts are related to child sexual abuse. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Former sex offender challenges residence restrictions
On Oct. 2, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in Snyder v Doe, a decision from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said that Michigan’s sex offender registration law violated the Ex Post Facto Clause’s ban on retroactive punishment. The law restricted where former sex offenders could live. The 6th Circuit is at odds with many other opinions that have rejected constitutional challenges to sex offender laws, but that didn’t convince the Supreme Court to take the case. The court invited the Solicitor General…
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