More than a dozen local lawmakers and law enforcers gathered at Yorktown Town Hall last week at a roundtable organized by state Sen. Terrence Murphy in an effort to update and strengthen legislation that will keep communities safe from sexual predators. Currently, he said, there are more than 1,200 registered sex offenders living in Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties. Full Article
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General Comments May 2017
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of May 2017. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreMN: Judge Stays Further Action in Minnesota Sex Offenders Case
A federal judge has stayed further proceedings in a class-action lawsuit over Minnesota’s sex offender treatment program while lawyers for the offenders ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appeals court finding that the program is constitutional. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Lauren’s Kids racks up six-figure donations via auto tag registration renewals
In January, Broward County car owners who received their auto tag renewal notices also got a special message from Lauren’s Kids, the nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing child sex abuse and founded by freshman State Sen. Lauren Book. Inside the envelopes, colorful flyers bearing Lauren’s Kids logo wished vehicle registrants a happy birthday while segueing into an ominous stat: “Yet shockingly, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday.” Full Article
Read MoreSex Offender Registration – Why Fear Isn’t Smart Policy
As momentum around criminal justice reform builds nationwide, sex offenders are one population that is consistently left out of the conversation. Full Editorial
Read MoreSC: Teens can be kept on sex-offender registry for life
South Carolina can continue to require some teens convicted of serious sex crimes to appear on the state’s public sex-offender registry and wear an electronic monitor for the rest of their lives, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. A boy from Spartanburg County who was 15 when he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old boy and ended up on the registry challenged the law. Full Article
Read MoreTN: Lawmakers pass bill lessening sexting punishment
Minors who send sexually explicit photos to one another could face far less serious consequences than they do now, under a bill that received final support from Tennessee lawmakers Wednesday. Full Article
Read MoreShakespeare And Sexting: Reconsidering Penalties For Teen Sexual Activity
Worried that the law sometimes imposes too big a penalty on teens who engage in consensual sexual activity, some legislators are pushing to reduce the consequences. More than 20 years ago, when ____ ____ was 19 and his girlfriend Amber was 15, Montana’s laws tore them apart, sending Russell to prison for four years for having sex with a minor. Source
Read MoreCalifornia Inmates Decry Changes to Voter-Backed Early Release Plan
With the support of Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and voters, California is preparing to overhaul decades-old determinate-sentencing laws and make thousands of nonviolent inmates eligible for early parole…. With the department planning to start determining parole eligibility on July 1, a civil rights group claims in state court that prisons officials cunningly tweaked the voter-approved measure and are planning to categorically exempt inmates incarcerated for nonviolent crimes that require them to register with the state as a sex offender. Source Related Newly Filed Lawsuit Challenges CDCR Regs for Prop 57
Read MoreKindergarteners among youngest schoolhouse assault victims
Student-on-student sexual assaults rise significantly during middle-school years, an Associated Press analysis of federal crime data found. But even as early as kindergarten and first grade, children can be at risk: About 5 percent of all sexual attacks reported on school property in a recent two-year period happened to 5 and 6 year olds, according to the AP analysis. Full Article Related Hidden horror of school sex assaults revealed by AP Senate Committee Approves SB 26 With Amendments
Read MoreHidden horror of school sex assaults revealed by AP
____ ____ was 12 when they came after him. The classmates who tormented him were children, too, entering the age of pimples and cracking voices. Eventually, he swore under oath, the boys raped him and left him bleeding, the culmination of a year of harassment. Though ____ repeatedly told teachers and administrators about insults and physical attacks, he didn’t report being sexually assaulted until a year later, launching a long legal fight over whether his school had done enough to protect him. Full Article
Read MoreAZ: Prescott starts new program to monitor sex offenders
Getting aggressive with sex offenders – Sex offenders living in the City of Prescott are now under an additional layer of supervision. Full Article
Read MoreU.S. Senate declares April ‘Second Chances Month’ in support of former inmates
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday declaring April as “Second Chances Month” for people who were once incarcerated and are trying to break back into mainstream society. Full Article
Read MoreNewly Filed Lawsuit Challenges CDCR Regs for Prop 57
A lawsuit was filed on April 27 challenging regulations recently issued by the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) which prohibit the beneficial effects of Proposition 57 from applying to anyone convicted of a sex offense. Those benefits include shorter prison terms that result from earning credit for good behavior as well as participation in rehabilitative, educational and career training programs. “Most registrable sex offenses are not violent offenses according to existing state law,” stated attorney Janice Bellucci. “Therefore, CDCR’s regulations have no legal foundation and are unlawful.” The lawsuit, filed in…
Read MoreMA: Governor Proposes Bill Protecting Teen Sexters From Felony Charges
The Massachusetts state legislature will consider a bill that protects teen sexters from excessive prosecution while imposing harsher punishments on people who share nude photos with others without the subject’s consent. Filed by Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday, the bill would prevent prosecutors from charging teen sexters as child pornographers, recommending that they be sent to an educational program instead of prison or juvenile detention. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Loophole could allow sex offenders to work for Uber, Lyft
Some are concerned about what is being called a dangerous loophole in the agreement that allows ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft to operate in New York state. Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law, says she found the loophole while studying the bill’s fine print. “It’s allowing Level 1 offenders that have been, as we’ve seen, convicted of very violent offenses against minors and adults and they will after seven years be permitted to pick up females in the dark,” Ahearn says. Full Article
Read MoreFeds tell Supreme Court that mug shots should stay secret
The Justice Department won’t budge from its position that federal mug shots of criminals should be kept secret, arguing in a U.S. Supreme Court brief that jailhouse photos are “embarrassing, nonpublic” moments that add to defendants’ grief. Full Article
Read MoreChild Safety at Sea – Freed and Stuart Talk Cruise Policies to Protect Kids
Protecting kids at sea has been a hot topic of late, as some major cruise lines have adjusted their pool policies to add lifeguards. Most revealing on the subject of child protection, though? Vicki Freed, senior vice president of sales, trade support and service, Royal Caribbean International, told hundreds of agents attending the final General Session of Cruise360 on Saturday that Royal Caribbean initiates a process 30 days prior to sailing to help assure no registered sex offenders sail on the line. Full Article
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