Source: salemnews.com 3/6/23 NEWBURYPORT — A judge is now considering a request to triple the $820,000 awarded by a jury last November to the former chair of the Sex Offender Registry Board over her removal by former Gov. Deval Patrick in 2014. Saundra Edwards, of Lawrence, a career prosecutor who was tapped by Patrick to head the agency, was removed from her position just three months before the end of Patrick’s term — a move Patrick admitted was linked to the agency’s handling of his brother-in-law’s first spousal rape case.…
Read MoreTag: Massachusetts
MA: Boston doctor arrested in child sex trafficking sting, told officer he wasn’t ‘in mood’ to get caught: report
Source: 11/4/22 foxnews.com A Boston doctor who unknowingly told an undercover officer he was “just not in the mood to get arrested today” has been detained in a federal child sex trafficking sting, a report says. Sadeq ____, an anesthesiologist at Tufts Medical Center, is now facing a charge of attempted sex trafficking of a child after allegedly agreeing to pay $250 to have sex with an imaginary underage girl, according to WFXT. “When we learned today of the disturbing allegations made against Dr. ____, we immediately suspended his medical staff…
Read MoreMA: ‘Glaring failure’ in criminal and sex offender background checks for professional license applicants
Source: boston25news.com 9/15/21 BOSTON — The state agency that oversees the granting of professional licenses for hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts workers is falling short when it comes to criminal and sex offender background checks on those applicants, according to a newly-released audit. Auditor Suzanne Bump’s report finds the the Division of Professional Licensure (DPL), which is now referred to as the Division of Occupational Licensure, has been unable to determine whether its boards and commissions were performing Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) and Sex Offender Record Information (SORI) checks…
Read MoreMA: High court takes up whistleblower claim that Sex Offender Registry Board violated law
[gloucestertimes.com – 5/4/21] SALEM — Lawyers for the state will be back in front of the state’s highest court this week, this time trying to convince the court to find that the state’s whistleblower protection law does not apply in the case of the former sex offender board chairwoman ousted by then-Governor Deval Patrick over her handling of his brother-in-law’s case. The hearing Wednesday before the Supreme Judicial Court stems from the long-running lawsuit brought by the former head of the Sex Offender Registry Board, who sued Patrick and the…
Read MoreMA: 6-Year-Old Accused Of Sexual Misconduct, School Calls Police. Mother Alleges Racism.
[dailywire.com – 2/22/21] It was November 12, 2019, when Flavia Peréa received a phone call from her 6-year-old son’s school saying a girl in his first-grade class had accused him of touching her inappropriately. The phone call was from the dean of students, who, according to the Boston Globe, indicated that her son’s alleged behavior was a form of sexual harassment, something the boy wouldn’t even be able to understand at that age. The dean vaguely explained the situation to Peréa before adding as what the Globe characterized as “an…
Read MoreMA: Mass. legislators call for hearing after report details sex offenders received trade licenses
[wickedlocal.com – 12/17/19 – Employment restrictions] The chairs of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure want an oversight hearing and an “immediate and thorough investigation” into how sex offenders were able to obtain state licenses to work in various trades and professions. Sen. Paul Feeney and Rep. Tackey Chan issued a joint statement on Monday afternoon, responding to a Boston Globe report that found 68 registered sex offenders held state licenses, including 21 electricians, and that officials at the Division of Professional Licensure had failed to check…
Read MoreMA: Tougher child rape penalties pushed
[gloucestertimes.com – 12/3/19] BOSTON — Convicted child rapists who commit new crimes could be sentenced to life without parole under a proposal by Gov. Charlie Baker to toughen sex offender laws. Baker’s proposal, which went before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, would increase the penalty for rape of a child with force by someone who has already been convicted of sexual offenses to life without parole. It establishes new charges for the rape of multiple children with force, which would carry a mandatory life sentence. It also would require…
Read MoreMA: O’Connell sponsors bill to prevent sex offender name change
[tauntongazette.com – 9/19/19] TAUNTON – State Rep. Shaunna O’Connell, R-Taunton, wants to put an end to what she calls a loophole that allows registered sex offenders to legally change their names. O’Connell, who is running in this year’s Taunton mayoral race, filed legislation a week ago to prohibit convicted sex offenders from changing their name to hide their identity. She said that more than a dozen cosponsors in the House signed the bill that she says in the end will protect children and families. A story last January by Boston…
Read MoreMA: Doe v. Sex Offender Registry Board
The Supreme Judicial Court vacated and set aside a superior court judgment affirming a Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) decision to classify John Doe as a level two sex offender, holding that there was not substantial evidence to support the hearing examiner’s decision to classify Doe as a level two sex offender by clear and convincing evidence. SORB classified Doe as a level two sex offender after Doe was convicted of two counts of open and gross lewdness. The superior court affirmed. The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment, holding…
Read MoreMA: Baker to refile bill on sexual predators
[eagletribune.com – 5/20/19] Gov. Charlie Baker will ask lawmakers once again to limit the release of sexual predators from prison. The move follows last week’s ruling by the state’s highest court clearing the way for the eventual release of Wayne Chapman. Convicted of raping two Lawrence boys in 1975, Chapman is also a suspect in the 1976 disappearance of Angelo Puglisi Jr., 10, of Lawrence. He has admitted to raping as many as 100 boys in eight states and Canada. Chapman, 71, has been in prison for more than 40…
Read MoreMA: State’s Highest Court Orders Release Of Sex Offender Held Since 1970s
Massachusetts’ highest court ruled Thursday that a 71-year-old convicted sex offender held for more than 40 years as a sexually dangerous person can be released, after two mental health professionals ruled that he was no longer a risk. The court essentially upheld an earlier decision from 2009 in ruling that ___ ___ can’t continue to be held at the Massachusetts Treatment Center. Full Article Related Calling for change before offender ____ is free Tough on sex offender legislation not refiled
Read MoreMA: Harvard professor loses post for defending an unpopular client
[theappeal.org – 5/14/19] As soon as it was revealed earlier this year that a house faculty dean at Harvard University, Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., had decided to join the legal team of Harvey Weinstein, students spoke out. Two undergraduates wrote an op-ed in The Crimson, calling on Harvard to “remove” Sullivan, because he chose to defend Weinstein, “the man whose infamous sexual misconduct and assault of over a dozen women initiated the #MeToo movement.” The students say that they “condemn Sullivan’s decision to represent Weinstein” while serving as dean, and…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Flowers of Justice are Blooming
Spring has begun and the flowers of justice are blooming. One of these flowers, which is especially beautiful and fragrant, is a decision issued today by the Massachusetts Supreme Court that significantly limits the use of GPS devices for those convicted of a sex offense even if the registrant is on probation. In its decision, the Court determined that GPS monitoring of an individual convicted of possessing and distributing child pornography constitutes a violation of the Fourth Amendment which protects against unreasonable searches. Specifically, the court stated that “(t)he government’s…
Read MoreMA: Mandatory GPS monitoring of some sex offenders violates privacy rights
Convicted sex offenders retain a constitutional right to privacy, and those rights are being violated by a state law mandating that everyone convicted of some sex crimes wear a GPS monitoring bracelet as part of their sentence, the state’s highest court ruled Tuesday. Full Article
Read MoreMA: More Than A Quarter Of Boston’s Registered Sex Offenders Are Homeless
The purpose of the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry is to keep track of where dangerous sex offenders are, but what if they have no address? That’s the case with ____ ____, who was arraigned Tuesday, accused of kidnapping two twelve-year-old sisters in Cambridge before they were able to break free. He’s listed on the Sex Offender Registry as “homeless” in Boston. Full Article
Read MoreShould we show compassion?
The story of a couple who were found dead inside of a tent at a homeless encampment has led to questions in the community: What rights does a twice-convicted sex offender have and how much sympathy does he deserve? Full Article
Read MoreMA: Sex offenders have access to kids on Halloween
[bostonherald.com – 10/7/18] Sex offenders are forbidden under state law from driving an ice cream truck, but they can hand out all the candy they want on Halloween in what one child advocate is calling a risky oversight. “Halloween is like Christmas for sex offenders,” said attorney Wendy Murphy. “They know they’ll have lots of access to kids and that they can’t get in trouble even though they’re required to stay away from children.” Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas all have “no candy” laws that ban sex offenders…
Read MoreMA: The Case for Dismantling the Sex Offender Registry with Dr. Emily Horowitz [presentation]
[sopri-ma.org – 10/25/18] with Dr. Emily Horowitz, author of Protecting Our Kids? How Sex Offender Laws are Failing Us Thursday, October 25 @ 7pm Cambridge Friends Center, 5 Longfellow Park (off Brattle Street coming out of Harvard Square, Cambridge) Emily Horowitz, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at St. Francis College (Brooklyn, NY), will review some of the research and evidence about sex offense registries and the harm they cause. She will discuss recent efforts to challenge these popular but ineffective and damaging policies. “The sex offense registry is essentially…
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