Source: ohiocapitaljournal.com 10/20/25 David Stebbins, a former federal public defender who played a prominent role in many Ohio death-penalty cases, died by suicide on Oct. 2, according to records in the office of Franklin County Coroner Nathaniel Overmire. Stebbins was arrested in late September on charges of pandering child pornography, according to records at the Franklin County Clerk’s office. Stebbins, 77, had represented many clients on Ohio’s death row, and supervised more-junior public defenders doing so. According to a charging document, Stebbins in May transmitted images of a boy engaged in sexual activity. He was…
Read MoreTag: Ohio
OH: Medina sign about sex offender address causes controversy
Source: cleveland19.com 10/3/25 Watch the video
Read MoreOH: 135 Arrested in ‘Operation Next Door’ Crackdown on Sex Workers renamed to “Human Trafficking Survivors”
Source: ohioattorneygeneral.gov 9/29/25 A statewide human trafficking operation conducted last week by more than 100 law enforcement agencies resulted in the arrest of 135 people seeking to buy sex – including from minors, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today. “Operation Next Door was named to highlight the proximity and prevalence of human trafficking,” Yost said. “Too often, we are lulled into the false narrative that these crimes happen only in the shadows. This is simply not true – human trafficking occurs in plain sight and, unfortunately, may even be…
Read MoreOH: U.S. Supreme Court paves way for proposed Ohio state constitutional amendment to end qualified immunity to move forward after 2 years of being blocked
Source: wkyc.com 4/24/25 CLEVELAND — Legal analysis: The United States Supreme Court has ruled against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, regarding his review over citizens’ ballot initiatives. Legally Speaking, this ruling effectively ends a two-year hold-up on a proposed change to the state constitution that would make it easier to sue police officers. With 3 sentences, the highest court in the land protected Ohioans’ right to propose changes to our state constitution… by rejecting Yost’s request to put a pause on a lower court’s order. … For this proposed amendment,…
Read MoreAL, KY, MS, OH, VA considering administrating Capital Punishment rape/sexual assault/sexual battery
Source: deathpenaltyinfo.org The States of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia are considering administrating Capital Punishment towards those convicted of rape/sexual assault/sexual battery to those who have a living victim. Read the bills [AL, KY, MS, OH, VA registrants and supporters, fight this with writing, calls, and showing up]
Read MoreOH: More than 60 people displaced after Akron apartment building deemed unsafe, including 20 sex offenders
Source: cleveland19.com 2/18/25 AKRON, Ohio (WOIO) – More than 60 people are without a home on one of the coldest days of the year. According to the city of Akron, the façade of the Parkside Apartments on S. Main, St. came crumbling down on Feb. 9. On Feb. 13, the Summit County Division of Building Standards deemed the building to be an imminent danger to residents and the surrounding community. During their inspection, they also found a fire panel wasn’t working and issued an immediate evacuation. On Feb. 14, the…
Read MoreOH: *IN JEST*, Lawmakers Just Proposed Making It Illegal For Men To Have Unprotected Sex Unless They Intend To Make A Baby, And YES, This Is REAL
Source: yahoo.com 2/15/25 It’s a ballsy move, but two Ohio State Representatives have introduced a bill that would make it illegal for men to have unprotected sex if it’s not intended to make a baby. If the “Conception Begins at Erection Act” passes, men in Ohio could be charged with a felony if they “discharge genetic material” without intending to get a woman pregnant. Read the full article
Read MoreOH: Some say residency restrictions lack efficacy, fairness to sex offenders
Source: local12.com 2/16/24 A Local 12 investigation is prompting a city to take action against sex offenders violating restrictions about where they can live. The stories have revealed that there are hundreds of people on Hamilton County’s sex offender registry who are violating the law by living too close to schools and relatively little is being done to stop them. Local 12 found that even in Norwood, which has passed tougher restrictions than the state provides and where violators are aggressively pursued by the city attorney, there were still five…
Read MoreOH: Want to Watch Porn in Ohio? New Bill Would Require Viewers to Show ID
Source: thedailybeast.com 1/16/24 A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Ohio have proposed a new bill that would require porn sites to verify the age of their users in the state in a bid to keep explicit online content out of the hands of minors. Senate Bill 212, as it’s known, mandates that would have would-be degenerates submit a photo of their state ID or provide their personal information to a third-party company before allowing them access to pornography. Companies that fail to comply could be slapped with stiff penalties. Asked…
Read MoreOH: Ohio prosecutors broke rules to win convictions and got away with it
Source: npr.org 12/14/23 Ernie Haynes never imagined that taking care of his three grandsons after his daughter’s drug overdose death would turn him into a felon at the hands of a longtime Ohio prosecutor known to sidestep the rules intended to protect a defendant’s rights in criminal trials. A week after his daughter died in December 2017, the court granted temporary custody of the children to their biological father, a man Haynes said also struggled with drug addiction. When Haynes refused to give up his grandchildren, Wood County authorities arrested…
Read MoreOH: LGBTQ+ advocates worried about vague language in Ohio’s new ‘grooming’ bill
Source: ohiocapitaljournal.com 12/4/23 A new bill in the Ohio House aiming to punish sexual grooming may have vague enough language that it harms LGBTQ+ youth, some advocates worry. Community is essential for many LGBTQ+ teens. Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) aims to provide that by holding educational programming and discussion groups. “They’re looking for those mentorship-type relationships that all of us need,” said Erin Upchurch, KYC executive director. But now, Upchurch fears a new bill in the Ohio House may target her organization. “The whole idea of it being so vague —…
Read MoreOH: 2 police officers being investigated after telling a father his 11-year-old daughter could face child porn charges for sending images to a man online
Source: cnn.com 9/21/23 The police chief in Columbus, Ohio, is condemning an incident in which two officers told a father his 11-year-old daughter could face child porn charges for sending images to a man online. Chief Elaine Bryant said as soon as the department learned of the incident, captured on doorbell camera video, it “immediately reached out to the father to apologize, and to assure him that this matter was being fully investigated – both the actions of this officer, and more importantly, any crime committed against his child.” Bryant…
Read MoreOH: Sex Offender’s Out-of-State Registration Counts Toward Ohio Sex Offense Reporting Requirement
Source: courtnewsohio.gov 8/31/23 A man convicted under an Ohio sex offender reporting law completed his 10-year registration requirements while living in Kentucky and did not have to start the reporting period over when he moved to Ohio, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office contention that Michael Schilling’s Ohio sex offender reporting obligation paused while he was living and registering as a sex offender in Kentucky and then resumed when he moved back to Ohio in 2020.…
Read MoreOH: From ankle strap to wristband: Warren County pilots ‘smartwatch’ electronic monitoring devices
Source: wcpo.com 8/23/23 LEBANON, Ohio — Warren County’s judicial system is among the first in the country to pilot a new device that encompasses all the functionality of an ankle monitor in the compatibility of a smartwatch device. The technology, called the VeriWatch, is relatively new but that didn’t give Mike Steele pause. Associate director of electronic monitoring for the Warren County Court of Common Pleas adult probation department, Steele said his team has partnered with Business Intelligence Inc. for roughly 15 years. Whenever they launch new technology, like this…
Read MoreOH: Ohio’s arson registry just turned 10 years old. Is it working?
Source: cantonrep.com 8/17/23 In 2013, Ohio lawmakers passed Section 2909.15 of the Ohio Revised code, creating the statewide arson registry. There are currently 1,377 individuals registered as arson offenders. Fire officials and investigators say the registry is a valuable tool. Other experts argue the database is ineffective and unconstitutional. Shawndra Brown decided to set a car on fire following a domestic dispute. That was in 2013. As part of her sentence, the 35-year-old Columbus resident was required to register once a year, every year, as an arson offender — her…
Read MoreOH: Reagan Tokes law ruled constitutional by state Supreme Court
Source: 10tv.com 7/26/23 COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a state law allowing prison officials to keep prisoners beyond their sentence if the prisoner violates the law while incarcerated is constitutional. In a 5-2 decision on Wednesday, the state’s highest court found that the Reagan Tokes law does not violate the constitutional rights of inmates. The law was passed in 2019 and named after the 21-year-old Ohio State senior who was killed in February 2017. Tokes was kidnapped, raped and fatally shot by Brian Golsby,…
Read MoreOH: Tech makes registering sex offenders easier
Source: thecourier.com 2/19/23 FREMONT — All 88 county sheriffs have been provided with new cameras to improve the registration process of convicted sexual offenders, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Friday. “Ohio’s sex offender registration system plays a critical role in holding convicted offenders accountable, and, in the hands our county sheriffs, these tools ensure that photographs are clear and uniform across the state,” Yost said. “Our job is to support local law enforcement, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with this grant.” In 59 counties, sheriff’s offices that requested…
Read MoreOH: Ohio bans child sex offenders from working with kids
Source: news5cleveland.com 1/5/23 COLUMBUS, Ohio — A newly-signed law will stop convicted child sex offenders in Ohio from working or volunteering with kids. Convicted sex offenders in the state have always been able to work around children legally, much to the chagrin of parents like Rebecca Surendorff and others who realize nothing can be done. “This is, frankly, a crisis level, and we’re not giving it the thought and attention that it deserves,” Surendorff said. The law has not prevented it — until now. Read the full article
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