Maryland Archives

MD: Law would ban student sex offenders from Washington County Public Schools’ property

May 7, 2022 R H

Source: heraldmailmedia.com 5/6/22 A proposed policy would ban students that are registered as sex offenders from taking classes on property owned by Washington County Public Schools The student can still take classes, but at another location off of school property. “I would just say that this is not one that you necessarily want to see come up on your policy committee agenda, but to me it seems that the main motivation here is that we are protecting our students by denying entry of student-registered sex offenders,” school board member Pieter…

MD: Maryland judge commits suicide as feds moved in for child porn arrest

September 13, 2021January 21, 2023 R H

Source: nypost.com 9/11/21 A Maryland judge fatally shot himself just as federal law enforcement showed up to his home to arrest him on child porn charges Friday morning, authorities said. Caroline County Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Newell, 50, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound by FBI agents at around 6:43 a.m., according to the Maryland US Attorney’s Office. The feds were at the judge’s Henderson home to arrest him on a complaint charging him with sexual exploitation of a child for allegedly filming teenage boys in the nude…

MD: Maryland’s Most Wanted – Kevin, convicted of a sex offense

June 23, 2021June 24, 2021 R H

Source: foxbaltimore.com 6/22/21 BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A person convicted of a sex offense accused of failing to register and then skipping town is the focus of this week’s Maryland’s Most Wanted. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, 59-year-old Kevin … has been on the run for more than a year. Kevin, who was convicted of sexual assault in New Jersey in 2001, is now accused of failing to register. “There’s a reason the law requires these individuals to register,” said Deputy US Marshal Al Maresca. “It’s in the public interest.”…

MD: Who is Meredith Martin? Ex-teacher acquitted of sex abuse after student lied

June 16, 2021June 16, 2021 R H

Source: meaww.com 6/15/21 ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND: A former Arundel County, Maryland, high school teacher, has been acquitted of charges of having sex with a student after it was found that the victim who made the allegations lied years ago while under oath in court. Meredith Susan Barry Martin, 39, who was also a former biology teacher at South River High School, was found not guilty of five counts of having intercourse while in a position of authority, one count of unnatural or perverted practice, and sex abuse of a minor. She was also found…

MD: Maryland bans sex offenders from being students in pubic schools after Project Baltimore investigation

May 24, 2021May 31, 2021 R H

[foxbaltimore.com – 5/24/21] Baltimore County (WBFF) – Students throughout Maryland are now safer in school. Following a Project Baltimore investigation, Governor Larry Hogan has signed a new law making Maryland the first state in the country to ban registered sex offenders from being students inside public schools. … The new law bans convicted sex offenders from attending Maryland public schools, while setting up alternative means to educate them outside the classroom. Previously, sex offenders could receive special permission by school administrators to enroll. Now, this new law includes a penalty…

MD: New Law Bans Montgomery County Landlords From Denying Housing To People Convicted Of Minor Crimes

April 20, 2021April 21, 2021 R H

[dcist.com – 4/20/21] Legislation touted as “ban the box” for rental housing passed the Montgomery County Council on Tuesday, with sponsors saying the bill will make it easier for individuals experiencing homelessness to find a place to live. … But the bill allows landlords to consider a tenant’s sex offender registry status in addition to any sex offense arrests or convictions. Read the full article Look for sex bills and laws in your state

MD: Annapolis, MD (KB) Frederick County Delegate Jesse Pippy said he is sponsoring sex offender legislation

February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 R H

[wfmd.com – 2/9/21] Annapolis, MD (KB) Frederick County Delegate Jesse Pippy said he is sponsoring five pieces of legislation at the 2021 General Assembly in Annapolis. One has to do with the sex offender registry and expungement. “There has been a push recently to expunge certain offenses off peoples’ records,” he explained. Delegate Pippy said this bill will make sure that individuals who are on the sex registry are prohibited from getting their sex offenses expunged. Read the full article Bill search

MD: Maryland mom fighting to create tougher laws against child sex predators (HB531 and SB333)

January 29, 2021 R H

[wjla.com – 1/28/21] A Maryland mom is back at it in Annapolis at the State House next week working to create tougher penalties for child sex abusers. Annie Kenny is fighting to pass the Sex Offender – Lifetime Supervision bill. The 2021 versions are HB531 and SB333. We first told you about Kenny in 2019. Mom wants Maryland sex offender laws changed to better protect children. The bill would mandate that anyone convicted of sexually abusing a minor in the State of Maryland, which makes them a Tier III Registered…

SCOTUS: Petition Maryland v. Rogers

September 27, 2020 Admin

Maryland v. Rogers addresses whether sex offender registration is “punishment” within the meaning of the Sixth and 14th Amendments. Jimmie Rogers pleaded guilty to a Maryland criminal law that provides that a person may not knowingly “take or cause another to be taken to any place for prostitution.” Because the victim’s age was not an element of the offense, the prosecution did not present evidence of her age. However, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services determined that the victim was a minor. After Rogers’ release from prison,…

MD: Maryland High court rules sex offender registration qualifies as ‘punishment’

April 2, 2020April 2, 2020 R H

[By Guy Hamilton-Smith, an ACSOL board member, a 2019 JustLeadershipUSA fellow, and a contributor to The Appeal and Slate. You can read more of his writing on his website] The Maryland Court of Appeals — Maryland’s highest court — issued an opinion this week that, effectively, calls a spade a spade: that being listed on a sex offense registry constitutes punishment. In Rogers v. State, the appellant had been convicted of a crime that would require registration if the victim was a minor. However, the age of the victim was not an element of…

MD: Maryland mom calls for more restrictions on lifetime sex offenders in Senate Bill 320

February 12, 2020 R H

[wjla.com – 2/11/20] WASHINGTON (ABC7) — “HI, my name is Ann Kenny, I am a single mother of three daughters from St. Mary’s County,” says Annie Kenny in front of the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. She is asking Maryland lawmakers to overhaul state guidelines on sex offenders by requiring lifetime supervision in Senate Bill 320. Read the full article

MD: Baltimore County lawmaker proposes banning student sex offenders from school campuses

February 10, 2020February 10, 2020 R H

[baltimoresun.com – 2/10/20] A Baltimore County state senator is drafting a proposal to prohibit student sex offenders from school campuses statewide. Baltimore County state Sen. Kathy Klausmeier on Monday said the bill would apply to registered sex offenders regardless of their age — prekindergarten through high school. The state already has laws prohibiting other sex offenders from school campuses, she said. The proposal comes after Santino E. Sudano, a 21-year-old Parkville High School student, was charged in December with second degree rape, according to court documents. Sudano had pleaded guilty…

MD: The Absurdity Of Charging 10-Year-Olds As Sex Offenders

November 25, 2019 Admin

A ten-year boy has just been charged as a sex offender as a result of a schoolyard game of tag that got out of control. As reported by the local CBS news affiliate: “the fourth-grade students were playing a game of tag that escalated when a boy began making inappropriate comments and movements toward the girls. One of the boys also wrapped his arms around one of the girls.” Full Article Related https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/11/22/10-year-old-boy-charged-sex-offense-marbury-maryland-school/

Janice’s Journal: Child Pornography Laws Should Protect, Not Prosecute Children

August 29, 2019August 30, 2019 Admin

The highest state court in Maryland ruled yesterday that a teenage girl could be prosecuted for distributing “child pornography” because she shared a one-minute video in which she was engaged in a consensual sexual act. Has the world gone crazy? “Child pornography” laws have been passed in every state in the nation. And in each of those states the purpose of the laws is to protect children from abuse and exploitation. Protecting children from abuse and exploitation is a noble cause. However, it is not noble to prosecute children who…

MD: A teenage girl texted her friends a graphic video of herself. A court said she’d shared child pornography

May 23, 2019 R H

[washingtonpost.com – 5/23/19] The three teenagers regularly shared silly videos, trying to one-up each other and trusting the group text messages would remain private. But one especially sensitive text did not stay among them — landing the teen who first sent it at the center of a novel court case over a sexually explicit video she made and shared of herself. Maryland’s highest court will soon decide whether state laws intended to stop child pornography apply when the child is both the subject and the sender of the graphic material.…

MD: Maryland House GOP to push for state income tax cut, violent offender registry

January 26, 2019January 26, 2019 R H

[baltimoresun.com – 1/25/19] Republican leaders in Maryland’s House of Delegates on Friday released their legislative priorities for 2019, including a state income tax cut, a registry for violent repeat offenders, and single-member districts in the General Assembly. Flanked by fellow Republicans, Anne Arundel Del. Nic Kipke, the House’s minority leader, and Baltimore County Del. Kathy Szeliga, the minority whip, also said they would push for authority for greater use of so-called “special police” in Maryland in an effort to try to keep schools safer. Kipke said that Republican delegates represent…

MD: Maryland joins sex-offender registry program

September 2, 2018September 9, 2018 R H

[washingtonpost.com – 8/26/18] HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Maryland is joining a sex-offender registry program that law enforcement officials say will make it more efficient to share records. The Herald-Mail reported Sunday that Maryland became the 17th state to join OffenderWatch last week. A statewide contract will allow every sheriff’s office, participating police departments and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services to use the technology. Maryland residents will also be able to register online to receive alerts and updates at no cost when offenders register within a specific radius of…

MD: State funding to go toward ensuring sex offender compliance

August 1, 2018September 9, 2018 Admin

The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office will soon receive over $24,000 from the state to help enforce Maryland sex offender registry and compliance laws. The Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that it is giving about $700,000 to help local law enforcement agencies in their sex offender registration, compliance and enforcement efforts. Full Article