After the near-death of her 1-year-old son, Wyatt, at the hands of a child abuser, Erica Hammel set out to change Michigan law. Full Article
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Senate Passes Grassley’s Bill to Track Sex Offenders, Protect Rights of Victims
The U.S. Senate passed legislation championed by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley to keep communities informed of the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders and to expand and protect the rights of sex assault victims. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act Reauthorization passed the Senate by a vote of 89-0. Full Article
Read MoreSex offender compliance checks throughout San Bernardino County nets 27 arrests
A sheriff’s operation to ensure registered sex offenders are compliant in their terms of release netted 27 arrests during a two-month span. San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies assigned to the Crimes Against Children detail along with State Parole agents, County Probation officers, and officers from the San Bernardino and Redlands police departments fanned out around the county making compliance checks in part of a national program known as Operation Broken Heart. Full Article
Read MoreSC: Issues arise with South Carolina sex offender registry
Victims of sexual assault and anyone else who monitors South Carolina’s sex offender registry may be viewing false information, The Greenville News found during a review of the state’s sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreStudy: 1 Percent of Black Men in US Are Registered Sex Offenders
One percent of all black men in the U.S. are registered sex offenders, and black men enter the sex offender registry at nearly twice the rate of white men, a new University at Albany study finds. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Sex-Offender Registration Termination Not Available for Pre-2008 Offenses
The Ohio Supreme Court today ruled that a statutory procedure allowing sex offenders to terminate reporting requirements available to Adam Walsh Act (AWA) offenders who committed certain sexual offenses after the state’s 2008 implementation of the AWA is not available to Megan’s Law sex offenders who committed crimes prior to the 2008 implementation date. Full Article
Read MoreAR: How State Handles Teen Sex Offenders
to one in three cases of child sexual assault will be at the hands of a teenager, and cases of teens with a history in the juvenile system assaulting younger children can lead to calls of tougher restrictions and more widespread notifications. In Arkansas, juveniles convicted of sex offenses are treated differently than adults, with a focus on rehabilitation to make offenders less likely to reoffend. But some victims’ families are saying they don’t understand how the system works or why we don’t have a count of youth offenders across…
Read MoreSex offender registry has unintended consequences: Women Against Registry
Theresa Robertson of York County said “pariah” is the word most people think of when the sex offender registry is mentioned, and she and the group Women Against Registry feel that needs to change. Full Article
Read MoreInside ‘Pervert Park’: Safe Haven For Sex Offenders
There are over 500,000 convicted sex offenders in the United States, according to a text crawl at the start of Pervert Park, a documentary that aims to do the near-impossible for the most stigmatized of crimes: stir sympathy for child molesters and sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreNC: On ‘ample alternative channels of communication,’ the First Amendment and social networking
A couple of weeks ago, I joined 16 law professors in an amicus brief (authored by Eugene Volokh and several of his students) urging the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in the case of North Carolina v. Packingham. Full Article
Read MoreLA: JPSO unveils state-of-the-art sex offender ID system
The sheriff’s office announced Friday that the Sex Offender Registry and Identification System, or SORIS, captures a high-resolution digital picture of the offender’s iris. The system can tell the difference between twins, and even a person’s right and left eye. Full Article
Read MorePA: Challenge to SORNA retroactivity reaches Pennsylvania Supreme Court
In the last few years, Pennsylvania’s courts have taken an active role in defining the propriety and scope of the state’s sex offender registration program. Following on the heels of a December 2014 decision striking down sex offender registration for juveniles, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently agreed to hear a sweeping challenge to the retroactive application of Pennsylvania’s adult sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreNC: Couple Jolly After Getting Sentenced To Life In Prison Because They Say They Did The World A Favor
A white supremacist couple smiled and kissed yesterday when sentenced to two consecutive life sentences each for killing a sex offender and his wife. Full Article . wife.
Read MoreVA: High court rules against device gauging sexual arousal
The controversial plethysmograph, used in assessing treatment, measures arousal as an offender is shown sexually suggestive pictures. It is the subject of a Virginia Supreme Court decision. Full Article Related https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1063223/billips-v-com/
Read MoreNewly Released Report Reveals Misleading Government Data for Registrant Re-Offense Rates
Although statistics demonstrate that there is a low rate of re-offense for registrants, reports released by the government often conveys the opposite, according to a newly released academic report. The report concluded that the government’s use of untrue or unsubstantiated ‘knowledge’ can have deleterious effects such as the passage of new laws that violate registrants’ civil rights and do not increase public safety. In addition to a comprehensive analysis of statistical data, the report includes quotes of false information regarding re-offense rates from federal and state legislators that led to the…
Read MoreTX: HOA bans homeowners renting to sex offenders, but is it legal?
HOUSTON – A Fort Bend County neighborhood’s homeowners association has put a ban on any homeowner renting to a registered sex offender. Lots of families with young children live in the Kingdom Heights neighborhood. The deed restrictions established by the HOA for the quiet suburban Houston community are crystal clear — no homeowner may lease to a residence to a registered sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: CASOMB Should Discontinue Use of Polygraph Exams for Registrants
The Fifth Amendment is alive and well for registrants in Colorado due to a decision this week by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. In that decision, the Court ruled that registrants could not be forced to incriminate themselves by answering questions about their sexual history during a polygraph exam. In Colorado, registrants on supervised release were required to participate in polygraph exams and to sign an agreement and which allowed their answers to be shared with law enforcement. In making its decision, the Court noted that the terms of…
Read MoreWI: Underground and off the grid – Lawmakers work to solve issue of homeless sex offenders
“I’m always moving around. I’m homeless,” …. said. Many people in Milwaukee wish he would just go away. The evidence is in the maps — maps that show where convicted sex offenders can live, and where they cannot. They show safe zone perimeters around schools, parks, playgrounds, daycare centers, trails and churches. Each municipality makes its own. Full Article
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