The Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday that it will file a lawsuit challenging a new state law that makes it a crime for high-risk sex offenders to live within 1,000 feet of a school. Full Article Related RI: Outcasts – Level III sex offenders in R.I. can’t live within 1,000 ft. of schools
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We are NEVER safe–but we CAN control our destiny. A cautionary tale from Rhode Island
We at RSOL heard the news on Monday with a sinking despair that could only be topped by the desperation clearly felt by Rhode Island’s Level III registered citizens. In June of 2015, Rhode Island legislators passed a law that would restrict all Level III’s from living within 1000 feet of any school. That’s a 700-foot increase over the previous restriction. The article reported on how registrants were in shock – although most had known this was coming – begging for more time to find a new place to live,…
Read MoreThe Pariahs of America: Reforming Sex Offender Laws
This summer, 19-year-old Zachary Anderson was featured on the front page of the New York Times. Unfortunately, Anderson became a national figure after he was placed onto the sex offender registry — for making a simple mistake. Zachary had consensual sex with a 14-year-old girl, but she had led him to believe she was actually 17. When everyone realized this situation, Anderson turned himself in and served a 90-day jail sentence. In September, The Atlantic reported on yet another story of a young person threatened with the registry. A 17-year-old…
Read MoreOH: Sex offender registries draw criticism from some unlikely sources
You might think that all advocates for rape victims would support the practice of forcing sex offenders to publicly register their addresses after their release from prison. But you would be mistaken. Growing numbers of victim advocates and criminal justice researchers are among those who have concluded that sex offender registries are too costly and provide little or no protection to the public. Full Article Also see: Sex offender says registry amounts to punishment for life Nearly three decades ago, ____ ____ was convicted of raping a 33-year-old woman. While…
Read MoreMurrieta Residency Restrictions Challenged in Federal Court
A registrant wishing to relocate to the City of Murrieta is challenging the residency restrictions adopted by the City of Murrieta, located in Riverside County. The restrictions prohibit most registrants from living within 2,000 feet of a child day care center, park, or school. CA Reform Sex Offender Laws President and attorney Janice Bellucci filed the lawsuit on October 6 on behalf of plaintiff Frank Lindsay. “Murrieta’s residency restrictions effectively banish most registrants from residing in that city,” stated Bellucci. “The restrictions prohibit registrants from living in at least 90…
Read MoreWI: Teen sexting in Wisconsin is popular, criminal (Opinion)
In Wisconsin, if your teenager is “sexting” with other teens, he or she could end up being convicted of possession of child pornography (or numerous other sex crimes), sent to prison and placed on the sex offender registry. Sexting is sending sexually explicit digital photos or videos to another person via cell phone or the Internet. It is the latest “craze” among teens and it’s popular in Wisconsin. According to research from TeenSafe.com, over 70 percent of teens admit to sexting with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Full Article
Read MoreGA: Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Sex Offender Law
The Georgia Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over a state statute that dictates how “sexually dangerous predators” are classified. ____ ____ was designated a “sexually violent predator” in 2013, which is the highest risk designation and requires him to wear an electronic monitor for the rest of his life. ____ was convicted for exposing himself and performing a sexually explicit act via webcam to an individual he believed was a 14-year-old girl, according to court documents. Full Article Case Info
Read MoreMD: Protest on sex offender’s involvement in Havre de Grace Seafood Festival stops council vote
The fate of next year’s Havre de Grace Seafood Festival is up in the air after residents complained to the City Council Monday about ____ and ____ ____’s involvement with the event. The City Council refused to entertain a motion to approve the festival for 2016, leaving the festival’s future in limbo. Full Article Related MD: In Havre de Grace, festival sees protest against former councilman convicted of sex offense
Read MoreCan We Please Stop Being Stupid and Cruel “For the Sake of the Children”?
A new law in Rhode Island will make sex offenders living beyond 300 feet of a school move to a place at least 1000 feet from a school. They have 30 days to uproot their lives. Guess who thinks this will make children safer? Only the R.I. Brotherhood of Correction Officers, which sponsored the bill. No one else. Not even law enforcers. Full Article Lenore Skenazy writes on her blog “Free Range Kids“, a commonsense approach to parenting in these overprotective times. She was the keynote speaker [video] at the 2014…
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Homeless Sex Offender Encampment Surpasses 200 People
The torture started in 2006. The cities of Miami-Beach and Miami got into a war of sex offenders because Miami Beach’s ordinance drove registrants without anyplace to live over to the mainland. Miami countered by passing their own ordinance to drive them back. The result, sex offenders couldn’t find anyplace to live and were living under the Julia Tuttle Causeway; the bridge that connects Miami Beach to Miami. Full Article
Read MoreNV: Lawyer for 24 sex offenders says Nevada registration law is unconstitutional
CARSON CITY — An attorney representing 24 unnamed previously convicted sex offenders told the Nevada Supreme Court on Monday that a state law that would change the way such individuals are classified is a “one size fits all’ approach that is inappropriate and unconstitutional. Full Article
Read MoreRI: Outcasts – Level III sex offenders in R.I. can’t live within 1,000 ft. of schools
Most of them knew what was coming, but the words still left them shocked and dismayed. Dozens of Providence men, all convicted of sex crimes, learned Wednesday from the Providence police that they had 30 days to find a new place to live. Full Article
Read MoreMD: Retroactive registration of juvenile sex offenders OK’d
A juvenile court did not violate a convicted teenager’s constitutional rights by requiring him to register as a sex offender, though he committed the sexual assault before the registry’s enactment, a Maryland appeals court held Tuesday. Article with Paywall Appeals Court Decision
Read MoreGovernor vetoes GPS-tampering bill
Overly broad definition of sex assault ensnares innocent students
As I wrote in my column yesterday, not all accusations of campus sexual assault are black and white. Yet colleges are treating accusations as if the accused were a potential rapist, even when the accusation involves nothing more than requesting social media connections one too many times. Full Article
Read MoreNH: Lawmaker proposes registry for heroin dealers
The registry would be similar to the registry of sex offenders. Rep. Jack Flanagan, R-Brookline, said it would allow Granite Staters to know if they live near anyone convicted of dealing heroin. “It basically sets up an offenders list,” Flanagan said. “Just like we have sex offenders, now we have drug dealers that are selling heroin, and I think they are equally as bad to the public.” Flanagan said he believes a public database would not only serve as a public service, but also as a deterrent for those who…
Read MoreLiving with 290: Mundane Purity
I titled this story “Mundane Purity” because I thought it was a catchy title and may grab someone’s attention. I met a woman when I was in the Marine Corps in 1998 and married her 3 months later. She had two children I raised as my own and we were blessed with a 3rd child that was born in January of 2000. I’m not going to bore you with the details of our marriage but I’ll try and make a long story short and get to the point. I hired…
Read MoreMN: Judge mulls reforms to ‘unconstitutional’ sex offender treatment
A federal judge said Wednesday he will rule on the fate of Minnesota’s sex-offender treatment program within 30 days, hoping to protect the civil liberties of its patients but also communities where offenders might be released. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank has already found the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) unconstitutional; during a morning court hearing Wednesday he heard arguments on its future from attorneys representing a group of confined sex offenders and from the state agency that runs the program’s two locked treatment facilities. Full Article
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