On his 18th birthday, ____ ____ and his 14-year-old girlfriend of one year, Misty, decided to have sex. Because of their ages, that meant ____ committed the crime of statutory rape. When Misty told her father months later, after finding out that _____ had cheated on her, he went to the police. In 1994, ____ struck a deal with prosecutors, pleading no contest to lewd and lascivious behavior. He avoided prison, but as part of the deal, he had to register as a sex offender. Full Article
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Federal judges slam man in sex-offender extortion cases
Judges in two federal cases last week ruled against an Arizona man accused of operating an Internet extortion racket that targets sex offenders across the country. Full Article
Read MoreOp-Ed: Harsher Sex Offender Restrictions Won’t Make Anyone Safer
Steve Blow and Josh Gravens are two of my new heroes. I met them both when I went to Dallas three weeks ago to speak at the Reform Sex Offender Laws convention. Gravens is a sex offender who also spoke at the convention. I went with him to see what it’s like to register and that became a story in itself. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreOp-Ed: Sex Offender Laws Have Gone Too Far
Our draconian policies about sex offenses reflect our ignorance of them. … The upshot, experts say, is that the United States has the most draconian sex registration laws in the world. As a result, the number of registrants across the nation has swelled—doubling and then doubling again to 750,000—in the two decades since Jacob’s Law passed, according to data collected by the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Full Article
Read MoreMexico: 53 denied entry in PV for pedophilia records
Immigration authorities in Puerto Vallarta turned away 53 foreign visitors between January and July when it was found they had a criminal record for acts of pedophilia. The National Immigration Institute (INM) began implementing a program call Angel Guardian in December of last year. Anyone entering the country who has a record for pederasty is denied entry. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Officers accused of bending rules on sex sting arrests
BARTOW, Fla. — In the decade since Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator segments popularized Internet sex stings, more than 1,200 men in Florida have been arrested, accused of preying on underage teens and children for sex. But as the stings put more and more men behind bars, detectives are working harder and harder to keep up their arrest numbers. And the tactics they’re using to put alleged sexual offenders in jail are sweeping up large numbers of law-abiding men, too. Full Article
Read MoreOrange Joins Cities Changing Sex Offender Bans
The city of Orange is set to join a growing list of cities revising bans on registered sex offenders in parks in the wake of recent state appeals court rulings. … Orange has already been served with a lawsuit, Lindsay v. City of Orange, challenging its laws banning sex offenders in parks. The suit alleges the entire ordinance must be repealed, but the city attorney is recommending only one section pertaining to parks be removed. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Research won’t support Dallas proposal that amounts to housing ban for sex offenders
In saner times, what Josh Gravens did would be called “playing doctor” or “adolescent curiosity.” General embarrassment and a stern talking-to would have followed. And that would have been the end of it. But in this age of hysteria, the childhood misdeed will never end for Josh. And now the city of Dallas considers making it worse by declaring a great majority of the city off limits for him to live. By extension, that would mean his wife and five children, too. Full Opinion Piece From the same author: Kids are…
Read MoreWA: Sex offenders arrested in Pasco’s Peanuts Park say they didn’t know it is a park
Two high-risk sex offenders stopped in downtown Pasco’s Peanuts Park on the same day claimed they didn’t know the one-acre concrete plaza is a designated city park. Full Article Photo View of Peanuts Park
Read MoreCongress Proposes to Fix Restitution for Child Pornography Victims
Faced with a draconian decision by the United States Supreme Court in late April which all but eliminated meaningful restitution for child pornography victims, U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) spearheaded a comprehensive legislative fix (S. 2301) which addresses the concerns outlined by the Court in United States v. Paroline. The Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution Improvement Act of 2014 was introduced exactly two weeks after the Supreme Court’s decision. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Officers bend rules to boost sex sting arrest totals
POLK COUNTY, Florida – In the decade since Chris Hansen and “To Catch a Predator” popularized Internet sex stings, more than 1,200 men in Florida alone have been arrested, accused of preying on underage teens and children for sex. But as the stings put more and more men behind bars, detectives are working harder and harder to keep up their arrest numbers. And the tactics they’re using to put alleged sexual offenders in jail are sweeping up large numbers of law-abiding men, too. Full Article
Read MoreCity of Carson Fails to Repeal or Revise Ordinance [updated with CC Video]
The Carson City Council failed to repeal or revise its sex offender ordinance during its meeting on August 5 despite recommendations to do so from both the City Manager and City Attorney. According to a staff report dated August 5, the City’s ordinance is inconsistent with state law due to presence restrictions which limit where registered citizens may visit. The City’s ordinance also includes residency restrictions which limit where registered citizens may live. Residency restrictions are currently under review by the California Supreme Court. “The City of Carson acted unwisely…
Read MoreWI: De Pere, Allouez take different paths on sex offenders
One issue, but two outcomes. Elected leaders in two Green Bay area communities Tuesday night took distinctively different positions on where convicted sex offenders can live. Major restrictions are now official in Allouez, but just to the south in De Pere leaders turned down a proposed rule on the same issue. While leaders in both communities have different views on the issue, they agree the state should set a common standard. Full Article Related http://www.wbay.com/story/26207456/2014/08/05/update-communities-differ-on-sex-offender-ordinances http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/2014/08/06/de-pere-rejects-sex-offender-residency-ordinance/13660239/ http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/2014/08/05/allouez-moves-block-sex-offenders/13652389/
Read MoreNY: New Law – Sex Offenders Need Not Apply
A new law prohibiting anyone with previous sex offense convictions from becoming a volunteer firefighter is an important advancement, but will not drastically change the firefighter vetting process, several area fire chiefs said Tuesday. The legislation prevents registered sex offenders from joining or remaining members of volunteer fire and ambulance companies by requiring applicants to submit to background checks for prior sex offense convictions, according to a Monday announcement from State Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, who sponsored the bill. Full Article
Read MoreHesperia City Council Modifies Existing Sex Offender Ordinance
In a vote of 4 to 1, the Hesperia City Council approved significant modifications to its sex offender ordinance by reducing both presence and residency restrictions. Specifically, the Council voted to end provisions that prohibited registered citizens from loitering within 500 feet of public places and replaced them with restrictions from being present at schools or public places where children gather. The Council also voted to reduce residency restrictions from 4,000 to 2,000 feet from schools and parks. The new law, when in effect, will be consistent with current state…
Read MoreFL: Judd – men cleared of crimes still ‘sexual predators’
Polk County, Florida — Sheriff Grady Judd assembled a press conference Tuesday morning of nearly a dozen local law enforcement leaders to recognize their efforts in “Operation Cyber Vigilance,” a March-through-June crackdown that already received thorough coverage in local media. However, he either didn’t realize – or didn’t care – that a number of the 132 men whose faces appeared on his mugshot “big board” had already been cleared of committing crimes. Full Article
Read MoreCarson City Council to consider revoking restrictions on sex offenders
Carson’s wide-reaching laws restricting registered sex offenders from approaching parks, child-care centers, public pools or other places where children gather will be on the chopping block Tuesday night when the City Council considers a lawsuit challenging the Municipal Code. Full Article
Read MoreOWNER OF WEBSITES LOSES CASE IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT
Charles Rodrick, owner of a family of websites that publishes the names, photos and other personal information regarding registered citizens and sometimes members of their families, today lost a case filed against him in federal district court when the court entered a default judgment. The case alleged that Rodrick and others he controlled violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by extorting money from individuals in order to have their personal information removed from those websites. “This is a major victory for registered citizens in our nation,” stated…
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