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TN: New bill could require sex offenders to report if they’re members of a church, other religious orgs in TN

Source: wsmv.com 1/30/25 The bill, “Requires sexual and violent sexual offenders to disclose the name, address, and phone number of any church, temple, or other religious group or organization in this state where the offender is a registered member.”   NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A new bill introduced in the Tennessee Senate on Thursday would require sexual offenders to report to authorities their membership in a church or another religious organization. … “As introduced, requires sexual and violent sexual offenders to disclose the name, address, and phone number of any…

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Can YouTube group’s child-predator busts hold up in court? Attorneys are skeptical they will

Source: palmbeachpost.com 2/6/25 Among the issues the predator cases will face: Did those arrested know their rights? Did the YouTubers collect enough evidence? Was there entrapment?   WEST PALM BEACH — By late January, nearly two dozen men awaited trial on the suspicion that they drove to Delray Beach in hopes of raping a child. None was caught by police. Instead, a team of civilian “predator catchers” — adult YouTubers who pose online as children in hopes of identifying would-be pedophiles — lured each to a public place, confronted them with the…

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No One Prepares You for the Sex Offender Registry Phone Scams

Source: filtermag.org 2/5/25 In April 2024 I picked up a call from an unknown number at the grocery store where I work. The first few moments were enough to send shocks of terror through my body. “Jeff Noland? This is Officer Walker with Davidson County Police Department. We have a warrant out on you.” My mind raced. What did I do? I can’t go back to prison. I can’t ever go back to prison. I won’t make it out alive this time. The person on the other end of the call…

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CA: Weeklong human trafficking sting operation nets 547 arrests across California

Source: ktla.com 2/4/25 The Los Angeles Police Department teamed up with the L.A. County Sheriff Department’s Regional Human Trafficking Task Force and over 100 other law enforcement agencies and victim advocacy groups to conduct “Operation Reclaim & Rebuild,” a weeklong sting into human trafficking across California.  According to an LAPD media release, the operation – conducted between Jan. 26 and Feb. 1 –primarily focused on rescuing victims of sexual slavery and human trafficking, apprehending their captors and disrupting the demand for vulnerable individuals.   As a result of “Operation Reclaim &…

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South Africa: Justice minister’s decision to publicise list of convicted sexual offenders welcomed

Source: timeslive.co.za 2/3/25 Justice and constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has announced plans to make public the list of convicted sexual offenders and gender-based violence (GBV) perpetrators by the end of February. Kubayi made the announcement last week in a move to combat femicide. “As I got into the portfolio, one of the issues reported was the need for the department to release the register, to make it public, of those who have been sentenced and convicted of GBV to protect our children. I have agreed we will release this.…

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ID: Idaho Supreme Court vacates child porn conviction over unconstitutional search

Source: cdapress.com 2/4/25 COEUR d’ALENE — The Idaho Supreme Court has vacated a Post Falls man’s conviction for possessing child sexual abuse material because police obtained key evidence against him by unconstitutionally impounding his car. A jury convicted Chadlen D. ____, 40, of sexual exploitation of a child by possession of sexually exploitative material, a felony, in 2022. He received a 10-year prison sentence, the maximum possible under the law, with parole eligibility after five years.  In a unanimous opinion penned by Justice Cynthia Meyer, the Supreme Court determined that…

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UT: Bill SB155 proposes to make it easier to be removed from Utah’s sex offender registry

Source: ksltv.com 2/1/25 SALT LAKE CITY — A controversial bill proposing changes to Utah’s sex offender registry was met with both support and criticism on Capitol Hill Friday. When SB155 was first released by Senator Todd Weiler last week it was met with harsh criticism, on Friday a substitute bill was presented in the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee. The original version of SB155 focused on moving certain criminal offenses with a lifetime sex offender registration to the list of offenses only requiring a 10-year registration. But now this substitute bill…

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Never eat the candy on your pillow: Life as an undesirable

Source: prismreports.org 1/28/25 Many so-called undesirables in prison fit into social categories like nerds, geeks, and weirdos. Just like on the outside, they are bullied and unaccepted Dear Reader, Prisons often lack humanity and are places where hope is far from abundant, and emotions are usually restrained. Lingering like a ghost in the corner, expressions of pain are often frowned upon by officers and incarcerated people alike, so trauma spreads inward and often goes unnoticed.  This reality is even more pronounced when the person experiencing the trauma is considered one…

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FL: Police officers continue to avoid sex offender registry

Source: wtsp.com 1/28/25 Four different charges were dropped against Markanthony ____, meaning he won’t have to register as a sex offender. A former officer with the Bartow Police Department accused of sexually exploiting teen girls has been sentenced to one year in prison, but will not have to register as a sex offender, according to court documents. Markanthony  pleaded guilty to four counts of giving alcohol to someone under the age of 21, child abuse and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. However, documents revealed that the following charges…

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Janice’s Journal: Opportunities to Show Up, Stand Up, Speak Up

There are two opportunities to show up, stand up and speak up on the horizon.  The first opportunity is the third annual vigil near the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on March 3.  The second opportunity is the fifteenth annual Lobby Day in Sacramento, California, on March 25. Both opportunities provide the possibility to be heard if you are ready.  Or to join in silence if you are not.  Both opportunities will empower you as you experience or observe the power of speaking truth to power.…

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SC: He lost his son to suicide after a ‘sextortion’ scam. The alleged scammer was just extradited to the US

Source: kten.com 2/29/25 South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffey was overwhelmed with rage when he first saw the man he believes caused his son’s suicide. The suspect was extradited from Nigeria to the US over the weekend on charges that he targeted 17-year-old Gavin Guffey in a sexual extortion, or “sextortion” scheme, that led to the teen’s death. The Nigerian appeared in court in Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday, where Brandon Guffey laid eyes on him after more than two years of fighting for justice for his son.   “Rage is…

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MS: US Supreme Court rejects challenge to Mississippi lifetime ban on voting by felons

Source: yahoo.com 1/27/25 The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a challenge to Mississippi’s lifetime ban on voting by people convicted of a wide range of felonies, a policy adopted in 1890 during the Jim Crow era that stands as one of the toughest such restrictions in the nation. The justices turned away an appeal of a lower court’s decision rejecting a lawsuit that claimed that the ban – a provision of the Mississippi constitution that applies even after a sentence has been completed – violates the U.S.…

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AR: Arkansas legislators push for SB13 law addressing Boy Scout child sexual abuse victims

Source: kark.com 1/13/25 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A bill filed by two Arkansas legislators would address settlement with victims of child sexual abuse expecting compensation through the Boy Scouts Bankruptcy Settlement Trust. Senate Bill 13 by Sen. David Wallace (R-19) and Rep. Jim Gazaway (R-31) specifically addresses the needs of the more than 500 Arkansas survivors of child sexual abuse while in scouting. Should it become law, the bill will fill gaps in previous legislation promoting the rights of sexual abuse survivors. Previous legislation was passed in 2021 as the…

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43 Organizations Reach Agreement on Letter to U.S. Supreme Court

Source: ACSOL A total of 43 organizations, including ACSOL and NARSOL, have reached an agreement regarding a letter to be sent this week to Chief Justice John Roberts of the U.S. Supreme Court.  The letter criticizes the court for its decision, Smith v. Doe, that has negatively and significantly impacted the lives of those required to register as well as their families. The list of significant adverse effects listed in the letter include unemployment or underemployment, limited housing opportunities, denied entry into homeless shelters and prohibited from being buried in…

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Amy Fettig: Prosecutors must be allowed to admit they were wrong

Source: post-gazette.com 1/26/25 Daniel Carnevale spent 13 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit — after a devastating fire in Bloomfield that claimed three lives, he was convicted of second-degree murder and arson. He’d been arrested over a decade after the tragedy, when a witness claimed he’d seem him at the building watching the fire, even though the police reports on the night of the fire said the witness had not seen the person’s face. According to the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, though the report from the ATF…

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