[mycitizensnews.com] [1/3/18 UPDATE: The ordinance passed http://www.rep-am.com/news/news-local/2018/01/02/naugatuck-puts-its-property-off-limits-to-sex-offenders/] NAUGATUCK — Sex offenders will no longer be allowed in borough-owned parks, schools, playgrounds, recreation and event centers, pools, gyms, sports fields and facilities, trails, or open space if the Board of Mayor and Burgesses approves a new “Child Safety Zone” ordinance. The board will hold a hearing on the proposed ordinance at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in the Hall of Burgesses at Town Hall, 229 Church St. The ordinance was inspired by a young girl who was raped repeatedly as a child,…
Read MoreTag: Connecticut
CT: Sentencing Commission Forwards Two Recommendations, Hit Pause On More Bail Changes
[ctnewsjunkie.com] HARTFORD, CT — A proposal that would allow some on the sex offender registry to petition to shorten their registration period or apply for removal from the registry was unanimously approved Thursday by the Sentencing Commission. The Sentencing Commission also approved recommending reducing misdemeanor sentencing from 365 days to 364 days. That one day would give immigration judges more discretion in deportation hearings. They decided to continue to study the issue of a constitutional amendment on pre-trial release and detention that would deny release to high-risk defendants and deny…
Read MoreCT: Sentencing commission tackles three big criminal justice reforms
The public got a chance Monday to weigh in on three proposals that would change Connecticut’s criminal justice system in very different ways. One proposal would change which sex offenders would have to continue to appear on the sex offender registry; another proposes a constitutional amendment on pretrial release and detention, and a third would reduce a state sentence for a misdemeanor offense by one day to prevent more severe immigration consequences. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Panel mulls changes to sex offender registry
Parents who check the state sex offender registry prior to allowing their children to knock on strangers’ doors and ask for candy this Halloween may be under the misconception that every person listed on the registry poses a grave danger to public safety. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Sex offender castration bill a priority for 2018
State Representative Kevin Skulczyck confirmed on Tuesday that he would like to see chemical castration performed on convicted sex offenders as a form of punishment. He said that the proposal will be on his “Top 5” list of priorities going into next year’s legislative session. Source
Read MoreCT: Residents can participate in sex offender sentencing survey
A public input survey regarding sex offender sentencing is now available to Connecticut residents until June 2. The State of Connecticut Sentencing Commission’s Special Committee on Sex Offenders created the survey to identify concerns the public may have. The survey touches upon sentencing, the sex offender registry for Connecticut and the supervision and management of sex offenders on parole or probation. Full Article / Survey
Read MoreCT: Lawmakers consider requiring juveniles to register as sex offenders
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require juveniles convicted of sexual offenses to register as sex offenders. Judiciary Committee co-chairman Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, said members of the committee believe sexual assault is just as serious when the offense is committed by someone under the age of 18. Full Article
Read MoreCT: State Supreme Court Overturns Denial Of Rental Assistance To Sex Offender
The state Supreme Court has ruled that housing officials improperly removed a man from Connecticut’s rental assistance program because his name was on the state’s sex offender registry. The state Department of Housing issued a regulation in 2012 that made those on the registry ineligible for housing assistance. But the court ruled Thursday that the regulation cannot be applied retroactively to those who already were in the program. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Connecticut Is Rethinking Its Policies Toward Jobs and Housing for Sex Offenders
Before she started work at New Haven’s Columbus House as senior manager of housing services, Cathleen Meaden’s job was housing people whose crimes were seemingly unforgivable. Her charges were people on the state’s sex offender registry, and when she’d talk to people about her job, the reaction was often not-very-hidden disgust that she worked in close proximity with people who’d committed such heinous crimes. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Bill Would Allow Sex Offenders to Come Off Registry
A bill moving through the General Assembly would allow some sex offenders to be removed from the lifetime registry if they meet certain requirements and the Judiciary Committee will be holding a hearing on it this morning. The bill, Senate Bill 473, would allow certain sex offenders to apply to be removed from the list after being on it for 10 years or more. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Court Considers Whether Blind Sex Offender Should Lose State Housing Subsidy
A legally blind Hartford man had been receiving benefits through a rental assistance program for years when state officials kicked him out because he’s on the state’s sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Sex Offender Registry Review A Tricky Task [Editorial]
Connecticut’s sex offender registry was created in 1998 to protect the public. Does it work? A committee of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission hopes to answer that question in the next 30 months as it reviews the state’s laws and policies relating to sex offenders. “This is not an easy topic,” said committee co-Chairman Robert Farr, former chairman of the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles. Full Editorial
Read MoreCT: New animation illustrates the real size of Sentencing Enhancement Zones
One of the worst ideas to come out of the War on Drugs is sentencing enhancement zones. These laws mandate a higher penalty for crimes committed within a certain distance of schools. The intent is noble, but at huge distances like 1,500 feet, the laws are actually harmful. Full Article
Read MoreCT: Restricting housing for sex offenders counterproductive (Editorial)
While well intentioned, a proposal backed by Norwich state Rep. Emmett Riley that would make it nearly impossible to house former sex offenders in urban areas is “misguided and irrational” as one witness succinctly stated at a public hearing last week. The concerns of the Norwich lawmaker are understandable. Norwich and other urban areas have been stung by the placement of former sex offenders in their communities. The burden seems unfair. The fear among families in these neighborhoods is real, even if misplaced. Full Editorial
Read MoreCT: Bill to Keep Sex Offenders Away From Schools Could Cause ‘Chaos,’ Critics Say
A bill intended to keep convicted sex offenders away from kids would throw the Connecticut’s sex offender registry into “chaos,” according to the state’s Department of Correction. Included in Senate Bill 1087 is a provision that would prohibit registered sex offenders from residing within 1,000 feet of a school or a child day care center, but according to Eric Ellison, deputy director for parole and community services at the Correction Department, that’s not a feasible, or even desirable, goal. Full Article
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 MoreCT: Council drops proposal to ban sex offenders in Wallingford parks
WALLINGFORD — Regulations preventing sex offenders from entering parks won’t be pursued by the Town Council, the ordinance committee determined Thursday night. Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, chairman of the committee, said the opinion of the Law Department was sought after the committee spoke on the issue in past meetings. Fishbein said Corporation Counsel Janis Small issued memos to the committee — made up by the Town Council — on Feb. 26 and Feb. 28 with information on how other municipalities and states handled similar bans. Other municipalities in Connecticut have…
Read MoreCT: Problems With Drug, Sex Offender Zones
Do crime-free zones around schools and other places where children gather actually protect children? The question will be aired in the next session of the General Assembly because of two proposals, one that seeks to reduce the size of drug-free zones around schools and another that would create zones around schools where sex offenders couldn’t live. The Connecticut Sentencing Commission has unanimously approved a recommendation to scale back the state’s drug-free zone from 1,500 feet to 200 feet of school property. Meanwhile, two legislators are proposing a bill that would…
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