If it’s true that all seven of the football players arrested for hazing in the Sayreville, New Jersey, War Memorial High School locker room are students of color, that is one more reason not to prosecute them as sexual felons. I don’t mean not to prosecute them in adult court. I mean not to prosecute them at all. If they’re guilty, they should be disciplined by the school, kicked off the Bombers team, and held accountable to their victims by making amends in words and deeds. But the punishment the…
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NJ: Supreme Court – Sex offenders who served their time can’t face penalties under new laws
Sex offenders can not be subjected to punishments under newly created laws if they committed their offense and served their time before the legislation was passed, the state Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision Monday. In 1986, ____ ____ was convicted of aggravated sexual assault on a minor and given a 20-year sentence. About six months after his release in 2009, when ____ was under no form of parole, the parole board said he would have to comply with the 2007 Sex Offender Monitoring Act meaning that he would have to…
Read MoreNJ: Parents of little girl who inspired Megan’s Law recall brutal rape, murder of their daughter 20 years later
Megan Kanka was raped and strangled by a twice-convicted sex offender across the street from her home in Hamilton Township, N.J., in July of 1994. Her parents, Maureen and Richard Kanka, pushed tirelessly for the law that alerts parents when a sexual predator moves into the neighborhood. Two decades later, the family is still haunted by the tragedy. Full Article
Read MoreOpinion: Megan’s Law requiring sex offender registry reduces opportunities for sick people to hurt children: former NJ governor
Christine Todd Whitman, who was governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, writes that she signed Megan’s Law to help parents know who is living near them so they can ensure their children are safe. While the law is not a panacea, it has helped protect kids. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Christie signs Jessica Lunsford Act into law
TRENTON – Sex offenders will now face tougher prison sentences thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie Monday. The Jessica Lunsford Act, named after a 13-year-old who was raped and murdered in 2005, means anyone who is convicted of abusing a child younger than 13 will go to prison for 25 years without parole. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Judge allows two friends to testify that teen told them she had sex with teacher
MORRISTOWN — A Superior Court judge ruled today that the prosecution may use testimony by two witnesses who said a then-16-year-old student at a Paterson high school told them she had sexual relations with a teacher from Parsippany. Full Article
Read MoreNJ: Trying to Ban Sex Offenders from Social Media Is a Waste of Time
New Jersey has become the latest state to try to regulate how (and if) sex offenders can use social media, an increasingly tricky problem facing legislators around the country. But privacy experts say the laws are problematic, and probably unconstitutional. The proposed bill would require all sex offenders in New Jersey to disclose the fact on all of their social media accounts. A similar measure was introduced, but not passed, last year. The measure has been pre-filed for the 2014 legislative session. Donna Simon, an assemblywoman who sponsored the bill, said anyone caught violating the law,…
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