Source: 5newsonline.com 7/5/24 BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — Multiple different civilian groups have been credited with helping in the arrest of alleged child On June 26, Daniel ____ was arrested and booked in the Sebastian County Detention Center for possession or use of child sexual abuse material. An affidavit says that on May 26, officers responded to Rogers Avenue in Fort Smith for a disorderly conduct call. On the scene, officers made contact with three people claiming to be part of a group called Oklahoma Predator Prevention. The men…
Read MoreTag: Arkansas
AR: A 30-year sentence for sex offender failure to register: How far over the top will this go?
Source: NARSOL.org 6/14/24 By Sandy . . . It happened in Arkansas, in Garland County, and, according to local media, the jury deliberated for 17 minutes before recommending the highest allowable sentence plus a $5,000.00 fine. Granted, this registrant does have a rather colorful history of failing to register. He has several convictions for that offense in three states, including this one and another in Arkansas. However, his criminal record reveals only one other conviction, his sexual crime conviction in 2002. Making this situation even more ludicrous, this most current…
Read MoreArkansas Court Sets Hearing Date for Halloween Sign Challenge
Source: ACSOL The federal district court in Arkansas where a lawsuit has been filed challenging a Halloween sign requirement set a hearing in the case for May 2 at 1:30 p.m. in the fifth floor courtroom in Fayetteville. The purpose of that hearing is “to assess the pretrial needs of the case.” According to the court document, the trial date for the case will also be set during that hearing. Prior to the May 2 hearing, both parties are required to file several documents, including an important document that is…
Read MoreAR: Lawsuit Filed Challenging Halloween Sign Requirement in Arkansas County
Source: ACSOL A lawsuit was filed on January 18 challenging a Halloween sign requirement in Marion County, Arkansas. The Halloween sign was created by the government and a registration officer taped the sign to the front door of a registrant’s home. The sign was required to be posted for about two weeks, one week before Halloween and one week after Halloween. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff in the case objected to the posting of the Halloween sign on his home and told the registration officer that the sign violated…
Read MoreAR: Arkansas Parole Board Denies Release to Sex Offender For Failure to Find Appropriate Housing
Source: prisonlegalnews.org 9/15/23 On February 2, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas dismissed a state prisoner’s habeas corpus petition challenging denial of his parole because he did not have approved sex offender housing. While bad news for him, the decision is instructive for any prisoner facing housing restrictions when paroled or on probation. Charles Isaac Wilson, Jr., is serving a 40-year sentence for a 2010 conviction for delivery of cocaine. In November 2021, the state Parole Board recommended he be transferred from the state Department…
Read MoreAR: ‘Public safety bill’ to give more disclosure for high-level sex offenders on registry
Source: kark.com 2/7/23 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Lawmakers in Arkansas say public safety is one of the top priorities this legislative session. As of Monday, more and more legislators are signing off on a bill that would provide full disclosure on the sex offender registry in Arkansas when it comes to where exactly the highest-level sex offenders live. HB1004 would amend the Sex Offender Registry Act to include the exact house, apartment, or unit number of level three and four sex offenders. The current law only requires the street name…
Read MoreAR: Arkansas lawmakers begin pre-filing bills ahead of coming legislative session
Source: ktlo.com 11/21/22 Arkansas state lawmakers filed 11 bills during the first four days of the period for lawmakers to file legislation in advance of the regular session that starts Jan. 9, 2023… … Separately, under his House Bill 1004, state Rep. David Ray, R-Maumelle, said the bill would require a complete address on the public sex offender website, and the current statute only requires the street name and block number. “Arkansas is one of only four states (the others being Maine, Washington, and Vermont) that does not give a…
Read MoreUpdate: ACSOL Demands End of Halloween Signs for 2 county sheriff’s offices
ACSOL sent a letter today demanding that the Sheriff in Faulkner County, Arkansas, immediately end a county wide program that requires all registrants in that county to post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween. The letter warns that if this demand is not met, all available legal remedies will be pursued. “Courts have consistently determined that Halloween sign requirements for registrants are unconstitutional,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “That is because the signs are compelled government speech and violate the First Amendment.” The most…
Read MoreAR: FCSO warns parents against trick-or-treating certain addresses
Source: thecabin.net 10/26/22 The Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office is placing door hangers on the doors of sex offenders warning “No Trick-or-Treat at this Address.” The community effort, led by Sex Offender Coordinator Chelsea McDaniel and FCSO Reserve Commander Brian Tyner, is designed to help community members stay safe this Halloween, FCSO spokesman Sherry Skaggs said. Commander Tyner said: “This was an opportunity for the Reserve Unit to take on a mission to improve community safety.” While signs have traditionally been placed on the doors of sex offenders on active probation…
Read MoreAK: Data shows Arkansas 3rd highest rate of registered sex offenders in U.S.
Source: 5newsonline.com 5/16/22 ARKANSAS, USA — There are 767,000 registered sex offenders across the nation and 18,000 of those live in Arkansas. The data says that just under 600 registered sex offenders per 100-thousand residents. This data comes from safehome.org. Senior industry analyst, Corie Colliton says since there is no national sex offender registry, they’ve been compiling the data from each state since 2019. “Arkansas does have a high number of child sex abuse victims per 100,000 minors in the state. It was higher than any other state. Almost…
Read MoreAR: Cop kills dog during sex offender compliance check at wrong home
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 11/17/20] Officer James Freeman of Greenbrier, Arkansas was doing a sex offender compliance check on private property when the homeowner’s dog barked at him. So Freeman shot the dog. Read the full article and watch the video
Read MoreAR: Sex-offender housing laws raise hitch
Legislators have passed several laws over the past couple of decades that limit where sex offenders can live in hopes of keeping communities safe, but some state officials say such laws often impede registrants from successful rehabilitation. Arkansas prison officials say they must figure out a better way of housing sex offenders released from prison because a growing number of them are homeless and tracking them has become a national concern. “They have to go somewhere,” said Dina Tyler, a spokeswoman for Arkansas Community Correction. “The community reaction to sex…
Read MoreAR: New sex offender laws now in effect in Arkansas
[ky3.com/ – 11/6/19 – NOTE that they linked to ACSOL at the bottom!] HARRISON, Ark. — Harrison Police Detective Ted Schaeffer makes sure sex offenders in his city are registered. “It’s almost a daily basis,” he said. Right now, he said there are more than 30 offenders Harrison. ASecureLife.com listed Arkansas as having the second-highest number of sex offenders per capita in the nation. “Arkansas has had a problem with multiple sex offenders not registering like they’re supposed to,” Schaeffer said. So in April, the state amended a law that…
Read MoreAR: Arkansas Sex offenders barred from Halloween activities with new law
[myarklamiss.com – 7/25/19] FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA) — We are less than 100 days away from Halloween, and after Wednesday, parents won’t have to be as scared about sending the kids off to trick-or-treat. Nothing is more important to Jennifer Quick than her four kids. “My children’s safety is a top priority,” she said. And as Act 463 goes into effect, she takes a sigh of relief. “I feel like the lawmakers finally putting in some effort towards the safety of our children is a big deal and I think it’s…
Read MoreAR: Arkansas woman must register as sex offender after trying to frame husband for child porn, rape
[wreg.com – 7/2/19] BENTONVILLE, Ark. — An Arkansas woman was given six years probation for trying to frame her husband by downloading child pornography on his cellphone and telling authorities he raped a 13-year-old girl. Cherie Renee Bolton, 34, of Siloam Springs, pleaded guilty last week in Benton County Circuit Court to distributing, possessing or viewing child pornography and filing a false police report. Bolton must register as a sex offender and pay more than $2,000 in fines and court fees. Judge Brad Karren also ordered that Bolton must serve…
Read MoreAL: Child sex offender-chemical castration bill sponsor State Rep. Hurst: ‘It should be surgical castration’ — Some offenders ‘ought to die’
[yellowhammernews.com – 6/13/19] Earlier this week, Gov. Kay Ivey signed HB 379 into law, which is a bill that will mandate so-called chemical castration for certain sex offenders as parole condition for early release. The law received headlines all around the country, despite Alabama joining several states, which includes California, Louisiana and Florida, with chemical castration laws already on the books. If the bill’s sponsor had his way, it would go much further. During an interview on Huntsville radio’s WVNN, State Rep. Steve Hurst (R-Munford) explained his push for the…
Read MoreAR: 6 new Arkansas sex offense bills including Halloween, grooming, positions of public trust, recording minors
[state.ar.us – 2/26/19] Click on each of these bills to read the details: SB 10: Prohibiting a registered sex offender from participating in certain Halloween-related activities. HB 1279: To amend the offense of sexually grooming a child. SB 183: To prohibit certain registered sex offenders from holding a position of public trust. SB 8: To prohibit a registered sex offender from recording a person under fourteen (14) years of age in certain circumstances; and to prohibit the unlawful use of a recording of a person under fourteen (14) years…
Read MoreAR: Senate votes 27-1 for sex-offender bill
[arkansasonline.com – 2/22/19] The Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would allow people convicted of sex offenses not to register with the state if their victim was under age 18 and the offender was no more than three years older, under certain conditions. Read more
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