Tag: Connecticut

CT: New Fairfield proposes ordinance to ban sex offenders from public places frequented by children

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Source: newstimes.com 10/16/23 NEW FAIRFIELD — The town is proposing a new ordinance that, if adopted, would ban convicted sex offenders from public places frequented by children. With the goal of preserving and promoting “the health, safety and general welfare of the children” and protecting them from “the threat of sexual abuse from sex offenders,” the proposed ordinance would “enact reasonable regulations restricting sex offenders from entering child safety zones,” according to the text of New Fairfield’s draft sex offender ordinance. The idea for the ordinance came from local law enforcement,  First…

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CT: Connecticut disclosure rules for sex offenders deemed unconstitutional

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Source: courthousenews.com 9/14/23 But the ruling only applies to the man who brought the case, since he did not file a class action. (CN) — Although he declined to grant class-wide relief, a federal judge determined Thursday that disclosure of online aliases chilled sex offenders’ ability to communicate freely, and also pointed out Connecticut has yet to use the law to prevent or detect any criminal activity. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer, a Barack Obama appointee, acknowledged at the outset of his opinion that Connecticut General Statutes 54-251(a) and 54-253(b)…

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CT: ‘Just existing, not living’: CT residents retroactively added to sex offense registry seek reprieve

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Source: ctmirror.org 9/10/23 Twenty-five years after Connecticut required them to register as “sex offenders” ex post facto, they hope the legislature will soon take action. During counseling programs he’s attended throughout adulthood, Aaron Kearney has been told not to let mistakes define him and not to let the past hijack his future. But for a quarter-century, the 52-year-old has worn a label making it burdensome to live up to those ideals: “registered sex offender.”  “The only thing I feel is that I’m just existing. I’m not living,” said Kearney, on…

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CT: It’s time to reform the CT sex offense registry

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Source: ctmirror.org 8/10/23 This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the public Sex Offender Registry (SOR) in Connecticut. The SOR – also called the sexual offense registry by advocates who want to move past the stigma of dehumanizing labels – is a publicly accessible internet database of individuals who have been convicted of a sexual offense and reside, work, or attend school in Connecticut. It is searchable and includes their name, physical description, addresses, photo, and offense details. Twenty-five years has been more than sufficient for researchers to study…

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CT: Police pressure parents to look at registry for abducting registrants before kids walk to donut shop

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Source: reason.com 1/30/23 “I have never felt threatened by a single person in this town until meeting those officers and the social worker.” It was Super Bowl Sunday in February 2019. Cynthia Rivers and her husband decided that their kids, ages seven and nine, deserved a long-promised treat for cleaning their rooms: the right to walk to Dunkin’ Donuts by themselves. … A few minutes later, the River parents heard a knock at the door. It was the police. The first cop to show up “said he didn’t think it…

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CT: The man who vanished

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Source: timesunion.com 12/17/22 THOMPSON, N.Y. — Something was wrong with David’s roommate. It was Monday morning, Dec. 5, and David was about to leave for work. He hadn’t laid eyes on Richard King, his friend of almost a decade, since Friday. Normally, Rich was out of the house they shared in this rural wedge of Sullivan County by the time David left for his job at the local high school. But when he saw his roommate’s car in the garage, David’s heart sank. “That was very unusual,” said the 46-year-old…

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CT: Connecticut woman sentenced to year in jail for voyeurism

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Source: apnews.com 11/29/22 A wealthy Connecticut woman whose criminal case file was sealed from public view was sentenced Tuesday to one year in jail for secretly recording three people, including a minor, in a manner involving sexual desire. Hadley _____, 54, of Greenwich, was led out of the state courtroom in Stamford in handcuffs by judicial marshals. She declined to make a statement on her behalf during the hearing, only answering several yes or no questions by the judge. Judge John Blawie, who sealed _____’s case file earlier this year…

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CT: Sex offender’s lawsuit reinstated in email address battle

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Source: apnews.com 4/25/22 HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A convicted sex offender has made a “plausible” claim that providing his email address and other internet identifying information to Connecticut officials violates his free speech rights, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in reinstating his lawsuit against the state. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan mirrors other court rulings around the country that determined some states’ laws violated sex offenders’ rights. James Cornelio, a former New York City lawyer, was convicted in…

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CT: Nursing home hit with $10,000 fine after alleged sex assault

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Source: ctmirror.org 9/30/21 The state Department of Public Health has fined the owners of an East Windsor nursing home $10,000 for failing to protect the safety of their residents and staff when they admitted a 50-year-old registered sex offender from Massachusetts who allegedly tried to sexually assault a nurse. The incident occurred on May 19, when Miguel _____, a convicted rapist and a registered sex offender in Massachusetts with a warrant out for his arrest at that time, allegedly locked a female employee in his room at the Fresh River…

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CT: Changes To Sex Offender Registry Will Be A Tough Sell

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Source: ctnewsjunkie.com 8/27/21 Sentencing Commission weighs need for change versus public perception by Lisa BackusAugust 27, 2021, 5:00 am The proposal to move some people off the state’s sex offender registry is going to be a “heavy lift,” according to members of the state Sentencing Commission. But members said it should lead to greater public safety by allowing police to focus on high-risk registrants instead of continually monitoring people who no longer pose a threat. “With the volume of people on the registry, it dilutes their (law enforcement’s) ability to zero…

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CT: Committee Considers Sex Offender Registry Changes

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Source: ctnewsjunkie.com 8/24/21 A subcommittee of the state Sentencing Commission is working to create a process to allow certain individuals to be removed from the public sex offender registry. After at least two attempts to reshape the law regarding people who have committed sex offenses, the General Assembly’s Incarceration and Collateral Consequences of Criminal Conviction Subcommittee will hear a presentation Thursday on two narrow proposals to create a path for people to get off the registry. The proposals are in their infancy and likely will be altered several times before…

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CT: State of Connecticut using EyeDetect for Testing Adult Sex Offenders on Probation or Parole

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Source: officer.com 7/23/21 The Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division (JBCSSD) of the State of Connecticut recently released public information indicating the EyeDetect lie detection technology is now being used for assessment and testing by Adult Sex Offender Services on a multi-year plan beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The contract calls for the state to administer 2,300 EyeDetect and polygraph exams annually. Adult Sex Offender Services maximizes public safety and reduces re-offense rates by overseeing the assessment and treatment services for known sex offenders under probation or parole. Many cases require…

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CT: Stratford Man Refuses Probation, Wants Jail Instead!

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The man is convicted of a sex offense and reportedly believes probation would make him a pariah in the community. STRATFORD, CT — A 61-year-old Stratford man, who was convicted of a sex offense, was sentenced to 30 months in prison this week on a probation violation, after he told a judge he would break probation again if given such a sentence, reported the Connecticut Post. Rae was convicted on possession of child pornography charges in 2009 and was released in October of last year. Prior to that sentence, he…

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CT: New CT Laws: Weapons, Underwater Farms And The ‘Clean Slate’ Bill

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Source: patch.com 6/13/21 CONNECTICUT —The state’s General Assembly 2021 Regular Session adjourned June 9, but promised to convene a special session before the end of the month to tackle the legal marijuana bill. Will it pass? That’s still a coin-toss, but a number of bills have made their way out of the House and Senate and onto Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk, where they were signed into law in the past few weeks. Senate Bill 1019, the so-called “clean slate bill” is arguably the most life-changing of the latest batch of…

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CT: Dr. R. Karl Hanson: Sexual offense recidivism risk: Not what you think

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[onestandardofjustice.org – 1/15/21] Dr. Hanson speaks about recidivism data and desistance. One Standard of Justice, Inc. is a volunteer-based civil rights organization committed to ensuring that persons accused or convicted of sex offenses in Connecticut are treated constitutionally and fairly by the state before, during, and after their sentences. We believe that these persons ought to be accorded dignity and respect as human beings. They are entitled, like all other criminal offenders, to be subjected only to penalties proportionate to the severity of their crimes, to be given second chances…

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CT: Divided Appeals Panel Slaps Federal Judge for Allowing Jury Nullification Defense

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It’s not news that most judges balk at the prospect of jury nullification—the right and power of juries to bring “not guilty” verdicts when defendants violate laws that jurors consider unjust or wrongly applied. It is news when judges take a high-profile slap at a colleague who endorsed jury nullification in his own courtroom. And it’s an even bigger deal when they barely assemble a majority to join in the public shaming. Full Article

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CT: Don’t Miss Another Opportunity To Fix Sex Offender Registry

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Last session, the state Legislature missed an opportunity to make major changes in Connecticut’s sex offender registry by failing to pass Senate Bill 1113 as proposed by the state Sentencing Commission. The Sentencing Commission was required by the Legislature to examine Connecticut’s sex offender registry and propose changes to the Legislature by 2018. Full Commentary

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