A sex offender ordinance adopted by Carson, a city located within Los Angeles County, is the subject of a lawsuit filed today in Federal district court. This is the fourth lawsuit to be filed in four weeks challenging a city’s sex offender ordinance that includes restrictions regarding where more than 105,000 individuals can be present. Specifically, the Carson ordinance prohibits registered citizens from being present in or within 300 feet of a wide range of locations including schools, parks, library, swimming pools, and bus stops. A registered citizen who violates…
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Do sex offender registries, like new ‘OffenderWatch,’ make us safer? (Op-Ed)
Today the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office announced it was launching “OffenderWatch,” a brand-new way to be scared of your neighbors. … I have a few questions: Why? And what, exactly, are you to do with this information? Do you commit these names and faces to memory? What are you supposed to do when you meet one of these guys on the street? Do you instruct your kids to stay away from these homes? Are we supposed to keep an eye on them in some way? Should we organize patrols…
Read MoreWA: Yakima County judge to hear arguments on request for sex-offender data
YAKIMA, Wash. — A Yakima County Superior Court judge will hear arguments today on whether to give a Mesa woman names and addresses of all low-level sex offenders in the county. Judge Blaine Gibson will also hear a request from attorney Greg Scott to certify his suit to block the release of the names as a class action on behalf of all 688 Level 1 sex offenders in Yakima County. Level 1 sex offenders are considered least likely to offend again, and their names are typically not posted by authorities.…
Read MoreWI: Man convicted of setting sex offfender’s house on fire
STURGEON BAY – A man who didn’t like that a sex offender moved into the neighborhood, so he set that man’s home on fire, was convicted Thursday. T.J. Robert Hunt pleaded no contest to arson, according to online court records. Three other counts were dismissed. Sentencing is scheduled for July 14 in Door County Circuit Court. Hunt and Justin Baker set fire to the residence of ____ ____. ____ was convicted in Michigan in 2009 of 2nd Degree Criminal Sexual Assault, according to the state registry. Authorities said the two cited…
Read MoreSex offender wants parks proximity (National City)
A registered sex offender in San Luis Obispo County is suing cities across the state, claiming he has every right to go near schools and parks — and National City has become his latest target. ____ ____, 61, of Grover Beach, was convicted in 1979 of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. His attorney, Janice Bellucci, says he has relatives in National City and wants to visit. She sued the city in federal court last week over its ban on sex offenders being within 300 feet of a…
Read MoreFeds settle with local firm over inaccurate background checks
(AP) — It’s tough enough landing a job these days, so imagine if that background check provided to your potential employer wrongly identified you as a possible sex offender. That’s what the Federal Trade Commission says happened in a case it’s settling with InfoTrack Information Services of Deerfield. The company provides employment background screening services. The FTC says InfoTrack gave inaccurate information suggesting that job applicants potentially were registered sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreScan Your Date’s Photo, Learn If He Is A Sex Offender
A few years ago I attended an annual conference of Balkan political leaders. Middle-aged men filled the room. In the back a younger woman who could certainly have adorned the cover of a fashion magazine stood out in stark contrast. I wondered: who could she be? Those sitting beside me had no idea. I wondered if one day technology could identify any stranger at a moment’s notice. On that day, only by happenstance did I later learn her identify. Soon, facial recognition programs may help instantly inform us who’s who.…
Read MoreUT: Man arrested after living as unregistered sex offender for 20 years
CEDAR CITY — A man was arrested after living under the radar in Cedar City for 20 years as an unregistered sex offender. Incarcerated in California for sex offense, ____ ____ moved to Utah and failed to register with Utah. Full Article
Read MoreWA: Exonerated Father Awarded $9 Million after 20 Years in Prison on False Sex Abuse Charges
A father who spent 20 years in prison based on sex abuse evidence fabricated by two former Clark County, WA, sheriff’s detectives was awarded $9 million by a federal court jury that ruled that the authorities violated his constitutional right to due process. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Daytona Beach park to keep neighborhood safe from sex predators
DAYTONA BEACH — A nationally recognized child abuse survivor — and abuse prevention advocate — is hailing a Volusia County children’s park as a great tool to keep child sex predators away from neighborhoods. Lauren Book is walking from Key West to Tallahassee as part of her fifth-annual Walk In My Shoes campaign aimed at raising awareness about prevention and pushing for change in Florida law to protect children from abuse. Her bus stopped at the Bayberry Lakes neighborhood park, located in Daytona Beach. The park, which is the first of…
Read MoreA Better Path to Community Safety (CASOMB Tiering Paper March 2014)
CASOMB first recommended in its 2010 report to the Legislature that revisions to California’s registration laws are needed and recently selected the issue as one which deserves increased focus and effort. The effectiveness of sex offender registration policies and practices has also been the subject of national focus recently, with a variety of jurisdictions addressing the importance of updating registration practices to reflect new research and evidence based approaches. Modifying registration practices will, CASOMB believes, improve public safety in California by focusing effort and resources on more dangerous offenders. Paper
Read MoreLET’S TALK ABOUT SEX (OFFENDERS)
First, let’s put some things on the table. There is wide consensus that sexual assault is under reported. There is some disagreement about just how under reported sexual assault among adults is (and some controversy about how it is defined and measured), but there are good estimates that only about a tenth of sexual abuse against children is ever reported. Abuse against children is especially heinous because of the lifelong harm it can inflict on the survivors and the subsequent costs it imposes on society. Now, let’s talk about one hugely counterproductive way to deal…
Read MoreVA: ACLU questions validity of massive child pornography investigation in Louisa
LOUISA, VA (WWBT) – The American Civil Liberties Union is speaking out, saying it’s concerned with how police are handling a massive child porn investigation in Central Virginia. NBC12 was the first to tell you that authorities are looking into more than one thousand inappropriate pictures and videos posted online involving teens in Louisa, Hanover and Goochland. The ACLU goes as far to say that minors have the constitutional right to take nude photos of themselves and send it to most whomever they chose. While, according to investigators, they’re trying to save these teens from committing crimes…
Read MoreOH: Law would mandate sex-offender alerts at nursing homes
State lawmakers want to close a loophole that requires neighbors to be notified when a registered sex offender moves into a nursing home but not the people who live there or their families. “As it stands now, if I live next to a nursing home, I’m going to be notified if a sex offender moves in. But if I’m in the room with a sex offender, I probably won’t know it,” said Beverley Laubert, the state’s long-term-care ombudsman with the Ohio Department of Aging. Current law requires notification of anyone living…
Read MoreSB 1027 (Hill) – Criminal record information: commercial use
Existing law requires a business to take reasonable steps to protect unintended disclosure of customer information and limits theway personal information on customers can be used and disseminated. This bill would prohibit a person who publishes criminal record information, as defined, via print or electronic means from soliciting or accepting a fee or other consideration to remove, correct, or modify that information, as specified. The bill would establish civil penalties for violations of these provisions. Bill Information
Read MoreIndia: Call for US-type curbs on offenders
MUMBAI: As sex crimes rise, a section among the legal fraternity and activists is asking if sex offenders in India must have some restrictions imposed on them as is done in the US. In America, the law requires states to register and regulate sex offenders residing within its borders. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Florida becomes the harshest state for sex offenders
Aljazeera America: Florida toughens laws detaining sex offenders indefinitely for crimes they haven’t yet committed In Arcadia, a town of 6,000 east of Sarasota, there’s a facility wrapped in sky-high barbed wire, where no one can choose to get in or out. This isn’t a prison, and its residents aren’t serving a sentence. It’s the Florida Civil Commitment Center, home to 650 men whom the state fears could molest, assault or rape again if released. Full Article (with video)
Read MoreAZ: Court hammers operator of Internet intimidation sites
A Valley man accused of running an Internet extortion racket was dealt a blow last month when a judge found he posted information on websites suggesting a decorated combat veteran with no criminal record was a child molester. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper imposed several sanctions against Charles “Chuck” Rodrick, saying evidence showed he controlled websites where operators demanded money from sex offenders and harassed those who complained. Full Article
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