Source: baytobaynews.com 10/26/23 Kudos to our legislators for passing House Bill 186 during Delaware’s 2023 legislative session and to Gov. John Carney for signing the bill into law. HB 186 will provide pathways off the Delaware Sexual Offender Central Registry for our children. It is important for Delawareans to know that the multitude of sexual offense laws in our state apply to every single person, regardless of age or gender. No one is exempt. … Delaware’s sexual offender registry is publicly available. In addition, registrants’ employers, landlords, neighbors and schools…
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DE: Crypto phone scam targets people on Delaware’s sex offender registry
Source: delawarepublic.org 7/5/23 A new phone scam targeting people on Delaware’s sex offender registry has drawn the attention of Delaware’s Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Last week, reports of the bizarre phone scam reached Delaware’s Sex Offender Management Board, which includes representatives from law enforcement, behavioral health treatment providers and the Office of Public Defense. Board Chair Robert Hudson says the callers, posing as law enforcement, told targets they had failed to register as sex offenders and warrants had been issued for their arrest. According to the callers, those…
Read MoreDE: Proposed sex offender registry legislation doesn’t make communities safer
Source: delawareonline.com 5/27/22 House Bill 306 is before the Delaware State Legislature. For the 4,500-plus Delawareans who appear on the state Sex Offender Registry the proposed legislation changes the “Restrictions” designation on the front of their driver’s licenses from the current “Y” to “SO.” The bill retains the words “Sex Offender” that already appear on the back of licenses. HB306 proposes nothing to make the public safer. Delaware drivers licenses use federally compliant standards, and law enforcement technology provides immediate knowledge of a person’s registry status without relying on any specific…
Read MoreNY: Delaware County Sex Offender Faces New Charge
[wnbf.com – 5/24?/21] A Delaware County sex offender is facing charges for failing to notify authorities of a change of address. Sheriff’s officials say they got a tip from a resident and arrested 20-year-old Tyler __ of Hamden on Tuesday, May 11 for failure to register his social media information. Authorities say Tyler __is a level three sex offender. He allegedly failed to report a Facebook screen name within ten days as required by the New York State Sex Offender Registration Act. He’s been ordered to appear in Town of Delhi…
Read MoreDE: Convicted Murderer Killed His Child Rapist Cellmate: Police
[lawandcrime.com – 5/12/21] A prison inmate murdered his convicted child rapist cellmate on Monday, the Delaware State Police announced Wednesday. At face value, a conviction would not change very much for defendant John Cameron, 55. He’s already serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, authorities said. Troopers responded to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in the town of Smyrna at about 8:13 a.m. on Monday, police said. Authorities determined that Cameron killed Philip Langell, 69, who was serving a 20-year sentence for rape in the first degree against a…
Read MoreDE: Lawmakers eye local residency restrictions on sex offenders
[washingtonpost.com – 6/21/18] DOVER, Del. — The state House is poised to vote on a bill preventing municipalities from establishing housing restrictions for sex offenders that are stricter than what state law requires. State law prohibits sex offenders from residing or loitering within 500 feet of school property. The bill to be considered Thursday would restrict the ability of municipalities to impose broader residency and proximity restrictions. Supporters of the measure say the Department of Correction sometimes has difficulty tracking sex offenders released from prison because overly restrictive local ordinances…
Read MoreDE: ACLU loses appeal in challenging sex offender GPS monitoring
Delaware’s Supreme Court has rejected a challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union to a law requiring GPS monitoring of certain sex offenders who have been released from prison and are on probation. After hearing arguments Wednesday, the court issued a two-sentence order Friday upholding a Chancery Court decision in favor of the state. Full Article Related Search de: DE: Supreme Court weighs sex offender GPS monitoring
Read MoreDE: Supreme Court weighs sex offender GPS monitoring
An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware is arguing to the state Supreme Court that it is unconstitutional for some sex offenders to automatically be required to wear and pay for GPS monitoring while on probation. Full Article
Read MoreDE: Judge rejects ACLU challenge to sex offender GPS monitoring
A Chancery court judge has rejected the American Civil Liberties Union’s challenge to a state law requiring GPS monitoring of certain convicted sex offenders who have been released from custody and are on probation. Full Article
Read MoreDE: ____ charged for refusing polygraph, therapy
When former state Senate hopeful ____ ____ testified at his child rape trial last year, he swore he did not force a youngster to repeatedly have sex with him more than a quarter-century ago. The trial ended in a hung jury. When he pleaded “no contest” in March to two counts of unlawful sexual contact and was put on probation, ____ didn’t admit to sex crimes, only that he would not fight the state’s accusations. Authorities have since charged him with violating probation because he has refused to to speak…
Read MoreDE: ACLU challenges GPS monitoring of sex offenders (Updated)
The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the constitutionality of a Delaware law that requires GPS monitoring of certain convicted sex offenders on probation. The complaint filed Monday targets a 2007 law that requires GPS monitoring of Tier 3, or high-risk, sex offenders who have been released from custody and are on probation. Full Article Update : ACLU of Delaware sues over sex offender GPS law (with copy of law suit)
Read MoreDE: Should towns ban sex offenders?
UPDATED with Opinion: Make sex-offender rules uniform There are more than 4,500 people on Delaware’s sex offender registry – about 1 for every 200 citizens in the state. In most of Delaware, sex offenders are not permitted to live within 500 feet of a school. But eight towns have written rules expanding that zone five or sixfold, effectively banning sex offenders from their borders. Full Article
Read MoreDE: Misguided legislation won’t protect children
This week, my graduate seminar at the University of Delaware hosted several scholars who study sex trafficking, both trafficking laws and the people they affect. Together, this group of scholars and activists from around the world share some common concerns about what happens when well-meaning policymakers use the wrong tools to address problems. Sen. Chris Coons has the opportunity to address one aspect of this with the bill pending now in the Senate Foreign Relations committee, H.R.515, International Megan’s Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking. While the proposed…
Read MoreDE: When Halloween fun is against the law (Opinion)
Halloween is a time for costumes, parties and seeking out some chills and thrills. It is also when sex offenders are placed in the spotlight as law enforcement, neighborhood watch groups and local media tell parents their little ghosts and goblins are in imminent danger of becoming prey. The result is a slew of policies aimed at keeping sex offenders off the streets and in their homes on Halloween – usually with the doors locked and the lights off. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreDE: Sex offender restrictions ineffective
Regarding sex offender residency restrictions (Letter to the Editor): Patty Wetterling, whose son Jacob was kidnapped and never found, posted the following statement on the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center website: “Because residency restrictions have been shown to be ineffective at preventing harm to children, and may indeed actually increase the risks to kids, the JWRC does not support residency restriction laws.” Full Post
Read MoreDE: ACLU Settles Lawsuit Over Sex Offender Residence
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)- The American Civil Liberties Union has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit challenging a Dover ordinance that prohibits sex offenders from living within 500 feet of day care centers. The ACLU filed the lawsuit in February on behalf of Michael A. Justice, a registered sex offender who began living at his mother’s apartment before the ordinance was adopted. Full Article
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