I used to believe in monsters. Until my brother became one. Three years ago, I got a call that my brother had been arrested for molesting his step-daughter. Certain there had been a mistake, I was obviously dumbfounded. Until he confessed. Through slurred words, drunken ramblings and tears that, yes, he had, and on more than one occasion. The arrest was just the very first drop in a roller coaster of emotion. This event has single handedly shaken my world like nothing before it. It has transformed my family in…
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Ever have Your Fortune Told.
Human beings have the habit of wanting somebody to be omniscient In powers to predict the future. When you think of a fortuneteller you think of a Gypsy type woman in a dark room with a turbine on her head in front of a crystal ball. We know in our hearts that these people are charlatans, whether they use a crystal ball, tarot cards, numerology or our astrological signs. Why then should we put any more faith into forensic psychologists who disregard the limits of science by overstating the accuracy…
Read MoreMA: Outraged Mom, Allegedly Assaults Neighbor Who Faces Child Porn Charges
A Massachusetts mom faces felony charges after she admitted to assaulting her neighbor, who had returned home after being arrested on child porn charges. According to a police report obtained by The Smoking Gun, Nicole Pelletier, 42, entered Gary Spring’s condo through an unlocked door the evening of Sept. 22. Full Article
Read MoreWA: Sex offenders back at Marysville home
MARYSVILLE, Wash. — Sex offenders have moved back into a church-run home, just a few months after the City of Marysville forced them out. The home in the 15300 block of Smokey Boulevard is located in a light industrial area in Marysville. The city said that it was being used illegally as a residential facility for sex offenders and ex-cons. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Judge Rejects Sex Offenders’ Challenge to Residency Laws
The claims of nine convicted sex offenders that New York state, county and town sex offender registration requirements and residency restrictions are unconstitutional have been dismissed by a Brooklyn federal judge. But Eastern District Judge Pamela Chen (See Profile) also dismissed without prejudice their claim that state residency laws preempt more restrictive local laws. Full Article
Read MoreHesperia settles sex-offender lawsuit
HESPERIA — An agreed-upon dismissal of a registered sex offender’s federal lawsuit was filed Thursday following a settlement. The suit had been filed in July over delay in approving municipal code changes about “presence restrictions” for sex offenders. Hesperia city code sections regulating the residency, mobility and business activities of registered sex offenders were preempted by several state laws that, when taken together, form “a standardized, statewide system” to regulate their presence, according to Hesperia’s attorney. Full Article
Read MoreDA’s Sex Offender Ban Continues to Be Repealed by Cities
Westminster city officials this week became the latest Orange County city to repeal a ban on sex offenders in city parks, following a recent appeals court ruling striking down a similar county law. Wednesday night, council members voted 3-1, with councilmember Sergio Contreras voting no and Andy Quach absent, to repeal the ordinance requiring convicted sex offenders to get written permission from police before setting foot in a city park. Violation was a misdemeanor. Full Article Note: The Article contains a video segment of the December 2012 Lake Forest City…
Read MoreCA Sex Offender Management Board Considering New Tiered Registry Bill
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB), a state organization, has begun consideration of a new tiered registry bill that would allow some, but not all, registered citizens to end their requirement to register in either 10 or 20 years. The bill would also allow most registered citizens who have been registered for 30 years or more and have not committed a subsequent sex offense to stop registering in the year 2017. According to CASOMB, the draft bill would increase public safety by allowing law enforcement to focus resources upon…
Read MoreCT: Norm Pattis – Courts create special rules for sexual misconduct cases
A future historian might one day write the following of our time: “Despite a generally permissive culture in which sexually suggestive photographs were used to advertise products ranging from toothpaste to cars, 21st century Americans nonetheless harbored draconian and puritanical laws involving sexual misconduct. It is almost as though they were afraid of the very desire they relied upon to entertain and to titillate themselves.” Full Op-Ed Piece
Read MoreWestminster expected to repeal sex-offender ban
WESTMINSTER – The City Council on Wednesday will likely repeal its ban on registered sex offenders entering public parks – a move that staffers hope will both satisfy recent court decisions that prevent cities from enacting such laws and help settle a potentially expensive lawsuit. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Supreme Court – Sex offenders who served their time can’t face penalties under new laws
Sex offenders can not be subjected to punishments under newly created laws if they committed their offense and served their time before the legislation was passed, the state Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision Monday. In 1986, ____ ____ was convicted of aggravated sexual assault on a minor and given a 20-year sentence. About six months after his release in 2009, when ____ was under no form of parole, the parole board said he would have to comply with the 2007 Sex Offender Monitoring Act meaning that he would have to…
Read MoreIN: Court – Sex offender doesn’t have to register
MUNCIE – A Muncie man convicted of sex crimes in Florida does not have to register locally as a sex offender, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled. In a 3-0 ruling, the appeals court also ordered local authorities to dismiss two criminal charges pending against 44-year-old ____ ____ ____ that stemmed from his failure to register with the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. Full Article
Read MoreADVANCING ADVOCACY Workshop Sept 24 (National RSOL)
Join RSOL on fourth Wednesdays (Wed, September 24, 2014 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM E.S.T. – Teleconference) to learn tips and get answers to questions surrounding sexual offense laws and policies, seeking change among lawmakers and the general public, and in general becoming a better advocate. We will be covering everything from basics to more detailed suggestions on how to approach lawmakers and build working relationships. Topic this month: Storytelling for Change – Phil Horner Phone line will open at 7:45 p.m. E.S.T. for early birds. Call in information will be…
Read MoreDC: US attorney calls for an end to statute of limitations in sex crimes
WASHINGTON – The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia is urging the D.C. city council to eliminate the 15-year statute of limitations on sex crimes. U.S. Attorney Ron Machen says advances in DNA have erased the need for such a law. But a bill that would wipe the statute off the books has gone nowhere since being introduced early last year. Since at least 2004, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has repeatedly asked the D.C. city council to eliminate the statute of limitations on sex crimes. The council members have listened.…
Read MoreJurors Beware: State Crime Labs Incentivized to Help Falsely Convict
Many jurors are led to believe that evidence and results provided to them through state crime labs are objective data on which they can rely in determining the fate of the defendant. Earlier this year, we discussed the crime lab scandal at the Hinton Lab in Jamaica Plain in Massachusetts, in which a chemist who was socially wooed by prosecutors falsified lab results in favor of conviction for years, calling 40,000 convictions into question. Jurors should be aware that there are even stronger incentives for state crime labs across the country to…
Read MoreSexual Offender Residence Restrictions
ATSA supports evidence-based public policy and practice. Research consistently shows that residence restrictions do not reduce sexual reoffending or increas community safety. In fact, these laws often create more problems than they solve, including homelessness, transience, and clustering of disproportionate numbers of offenders in areas outside of restricted zones. Full Report (pdf)
Read MoreSC: Public university required students to submit sexual history or face disciplinary action
Clemson University is requiring students to reveal how many times they’ve had sex in the past month and with how many partners. In screenshots obtained exclusively by Campus Reform, the South Carolina university is asking students invasive and personal questions about their drinking habits and sex life as part of what they’ve billed as an online Title IX training course. Full Article
Read MoreUT: Sex offenders driving up prison population
Prison populations around the country have been in steady decline for the past 10 years. In Utah, it’s a different story. The number of men and women in the state’s prison system has continued to rise, with the highest drivers being nonviolent criminals and sex offenders, who are staying in longer and taking up more beds than ever before, according to data collected by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Sex offenders now take up 42 percent more beds than they did 10 years ago, making them the largest group inside the…
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